On Wednesday, New York City will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in a mostly virtual way, one year after the annual parade honoring Irish heritage became one of the city’s first coronavirus casualties.
Despite the cancellation of the city’s usual large parade of floats and marching bands, a few hundred people are expected to march at 6 a.m. to keep the tradition alive, according to a spokesperson for Mayor Bill de Blasio.
According to the parade organizers’ website, there will be a live broadcast of the St. Patrick’s Day Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral at 8:30 a.m. At 10 a.m., a virtual parade featuring clips of marching bands from previous years will take place, followed by an hour-long broadcast on Facebook at 11 a.m., featuring performances by singers Andy Cooney and Moya Brennan.
Thousands of people normally line Fifth Avenue for the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in New York, which dates back to the 1760s.
On St. Patrick’s Day 2020, the city was only beginning to shut down to avoid the spread of the coronavirus, and de Blasio waited until days before the parade to cancel it. Before 7 a.m., a small group marched in the rain.
St. Patrick’s Day is also a significant business day for the city’s taverns and restaurants, as well as a major tourism date.
COVID-19 limits will keep festivities to a minimum this year. Alcoholic beverages should only be served in establishments that also serve food. The bar will close at 11 p.m. Like all bars, taverns and pubs can only fill 35 percent of their seats. Two days after the holiday, the number will leap to 50%.
Stay-at-home viewers will watch a 5 p.m. show on the Catholic Faith Network featuring parade organizers and Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York, and at 7 p.m., WNBC will air “St. Patrick’s Day: A Celebration For All.”
