Sturgeon Bay turns Irish for a day with its annual St. Patrick's Day Parade
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
STURGEON BAY - As it has done for 30 years, the city of Sturgeon Bay once again gives people a reason to wear green other than a Green Bay Packers game day when it hosts its annual St. Patrick's Day Parade on Saturday, March 11, this year with a new event as part of the festivities.
The parade to celebrate the legend of the man who chased the snakes out of Ireland was first organized in the city in 1993 by a group of residents calling themselves Clan O’Hern (Mike Taylor, John Scanlon, Brian Cofou, and Mark and Dan O’Hern). In 1998 Destination Sturgeon Bay (then called the Sturgeon Bay Visitor Center) took over the event and has continued to present it every year since, except for a pandemic-caused cancellation in 2021.
About 20 to 25 entries traditionally take part in the parade, with floats, decorated vehicles, marchers and a St. Patrick character. It starts at 11 a.m., with the route beginning at Sawyer Park, on the West Side foot of the Maple-Oregon Bridge. The parade proceeds from there to Oak Street, down Madison Avenue, then across the historic Michigan Street Bridge to Third Avenue, then north to the corner of North Third and Jefferson Street.
Parade entries are being accepted until Wednesday; no cost is required to participate. Applications are available on the Destination Sturgeon Bay website.
Before, during and after the parade, a new St. Patrick's event takes place when Third Avenue PlayWorks holds an Indoor Winter Market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in its Kane Theater at 239 N. Third Ave., half a block away from the end of the parade route.
It's the second indoor pop-up market this winter to take place at TAP, following on the heels of the inaugural one held during last month's Fire & Ice weekend, and will feature local vendors, many of whom regularly bring their knitwear, jewelry, honey, sweets and other wares to the Sturgeon Bay Farmers Market during the season.
A couple of clubs and restaurants in Sturgeon Bay are planning special events and live music to celebrate the holiday.
Kitty O'Reilly's Irish Pub, 59 E. Oak St., gets things started with breakfast from 8 to 11 a.m. and continues with food served all day, including the Irish dishes in which they specialize such as corned beef and cabbage, shepherd's pie, beef boxty (a stuffed potato pancake), Irish stew, Reuben sandwiches, fish and chips, and ribs with a Guinness beer barbecue sauce. Green beer will be available along with Guinness, of course, and live music will be provided by a bagpiper at noon, followed by classic rock by Whiskey Ditch and the Paul Hanna Band from 1 to 7 p.m.
Also, Stone Harbor Resort, 107 N. First Ave., hosts a post-parade St. Patrick's party starting at 1 p.m. Saturday with live music featuring country/rock by the John Welch Band until 5 p.m. and classic rock/blues acoustic duo Koepke LaForce from 6:30 to 10 p.m.
For more information or to enter the parade, call 920-743-6246 or visit sturgeonbay.net. For more on the TAP indoor market, email jenevieve@thirdavenueplayworks.org.
Despite the holiday being celebrated locally on March 11, St. Patrick’s Day is actually observed on March 17.
Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.
MORE: Washington Island science teacher is awarded a national grant for STEM teaching
MORE: Door County cheese judged second-best in the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest
FOR MORE DOOR COUNTY NEWS: Check out our website
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Sturgeon Bay turns Irish for a day with its St. Patrick's Day Parade
