Preparations underway for 50th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Organizers have about two weeks left to put the finishing touches on Louisville’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

The parade on March 11 is a fundraiser for the Ancient Order of Hibernians. When the weather is nice, the parade can draw about 100,000 people to the Highlands.

Organizer John O’Dwyer said the parade has been in different parts of the city, but has found its home in the Highlands.

He updated neighbors on Wednesday at the Highlands Commerce Guild meeting.

O’Dwyer said businesses should expect the usual operations on parade day: barricading certain intersections, off-duty police, and volunteers for security.

Safety is their top priority, with O’Dwyer mentioning that there haven’t been any major incidents on parade day in the past.

“All the people that come out for the parade, they kind of self-police,” O’Dwyer said. “They don’t want any issues, they just want to have fun. That really permeates throughout the whole crowd. We do have all the security and everything that we’re supposed to have and need, but it does kind of self-regulate because of the nature of it.”

O’Dwyer said people arrive as early as 9:00 a.m. Rolling road closures will begin around noon.

The parade is scheduled to roll at 3:00 p.m and is expected to be finished by 6:00 p.m.

The parade route stretches from Broadway to Baxter Avenue and ends around Windsor Place.

Copyright 2023 WAVE. All rights reserved.