MILWAUKEE – The 54th Shamrock Club of Wisconsin St. Patrick’s Day Parade is back after a two-year hiatus.
The Shamrock Club of Wisconsin and Westown Association announced the parade will return to downtown Milwaukee on Saturday, March 12 at noon. The Parade will start on West Wisconsin Avenue at North Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and end at Water Street and Highland Ave.
Westown Association’s Executive Director Stacie Callies tells Wisconsin’s Morning News that she’s excited to bring this “great tradition” back to Milwaukee.
“We couldn’t be more excited after this two-year gap of having the parade,” Callies said, “bringing this great tradition back to the downtown streets of Milwaukee. It’s really an economic driver for our businesses downtown and Westown and along the route, but it’s just a great celebration of Irish culture.”
Callies said the pandemic forcing the parade to shut down caused frustration, but she now expects one of the largest crowds due to the “pent-up demand” of these traditions.
“That was really a difficult time,” Callies said. “I remember getting the call from then-Mayor Barrett at home at 10 o’clock at night; two days before the parade, saying we couldn’t move forward. And just having to turn a machine like the Shamrock Club of Wisconsin St. Patrick’s Day Parade around just to cancel it was just really kind of a crazy experience; very disappointing. But I think now looking forward to this year, there’s just so much pent-up demand for these type of large community celebrations.”
She is expecting one of her laegest crowds. Peaopel in Milwaukee are used this weather.