DENVER — Stars, stripes, and shamrocks was the theme for this year’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in downtown Denver, which brought out thousands of people despite weather concerns going into the weekend.
A sea of green lined the streets of downtown Denver for the annual event.
"We always enjoy St. Patty’s Day here. It is a tradition,” exclaimed Bill Jackson, who celebrates the holiday downtown every year with his family.
“I have missed four or five,” he said. “... I bet my wife has not missed more than three or four — half a dozen — in 67 years."
It’s an annual tradition that has passed on through generations.
Jackson’s son, Cameron, by his side.
“I’ve spent my whole life coming to this and all my friends come, my family comes," he said.
“I have people show up that I haven't seen in years, and they'll just walk by, they know we're here, and they stop by every year,” he added.
Alex Yellowhorse, an avid fan of Denver7, attended the event with her grandfather and her friend Lyvi Jones.
Yellowhorse said she has been coming every year since she was about 5 years old.
“The only time I haven't gone is during COVID,” she said proudly.
Victoria Knoll, another attendee, and her family echoing the same annual tradition.
“We've been coming here since we were probably like 2, so every year we tried to step it up and make our costumes better," she said.
She said her grandma used to bring her and her siblings to the parade every year.
But this year, the weather was a bit different for these long-time attendees, as the season’s unusually warm temperatures continue.
“Normally that first hour or two is a little chilly. Not this year,” said Cameron Jackson.
“For previous years it's been fairly chilly during this time, but today it's really nice. I mean, it's sunny,” added Yellowhorse.
Knoll said her and her family were used to the colder weather.
“We would always bring hot chocolate and one of the big thermoses and stuff,” she described.
“But this is great. I mean, sad winter, but it's nice being warm,” she added.
Coupled with the warm temperatures were strong wind warnings throughout the weekend.
This led to some extra preparations for event organizers.
Matt Van Sistine, board chair for Ballpark Collective Neighborhood Association and one of the organizers for Irishfest, said they are happy the temperature is on their side this year.
"We're hoping that you can arrange that those winds don't come downtown,” he joked.
“We did put some extra tent weights, and we're just hopeful that we have a beautiful day,” he added.
Van Sistine is confident that the weather concerns wouldn’t stop the fun.
“I think people are going to show up and celebrate, and we'll react and react appropriately if the high winds come in,” he said. “This year, we have over 1,000 pre-sold tickets, and so we're going to have a sold-out show, and there's a couple 100,000 people coming down for the parade."
Saturday will be the first Irishfest since 2019. Van Sistine emphasized that this event is six years in the making.
“I've had stuff in storage and happy to bring it out and bring community together,” he said excitedly.
“We had our first Irishfest in 2019 and that was a one-block festival. And then we had planned a two-block festival for 2020 and three days before the shutdowns were starting to happen, the parade canceled, and since we're a community festival, we also canceled,” he explained.
The Irishfest raises funds for the neighborhood association to support small businesses and help organize more events that bring community and businesses together.
David Anderson, president of the Denver St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee, told Denver7 leading up to the big event that they “do have a grandstand area with a large tent, but it will be battened down hard, so that it won’t blow off."
“We’ll have to be careful and watch things... that might wanna float away,” he added.
If you did attend the Saturday’s parade, you can go vote for your favorite float.
