Halifax’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade goes Sunday

By Meghan Groff

Although St. Patrick's Day isn't until next weekend, the parade celebrating all things Irish will be held this weekend.

The 11th anniversary of the Halifax St. Patrick's Day Parade goes Sunday.

Parade chairman Brian Doherty says they're inviting all Haligonians to wear green and come out for the event.

“It's just a fun day that the Irish can get out there, fly their colours, have a bit fun and share their culture with the rest of the many different cultures in Halifax,” he said. “We always invite everyone else in. It's a great day for a party and a great day of fun.”

The parade starts at 1 p.m. near Pier 21 before it goes up Terminal Road, heads north along Lower Water Street, and ends up at the Historic Properties. Police will be helping out with traffic control along the 1.2 kilometre route and Halifax Regional Municipality expects the parade to finish by 2 p.m.

“We have the fire service there, the police service, we have a Dartmouth pipe band coming over, the Hal-Con group, which are a very fun group with great characters,” said Doherty. “We'll have about 40 different groups participating.”

When asked why the parade is being held the weekend before St. Patrick's Day, Doherty said the 17th is generally a hectic day.

“We're a totally volunteer organization and many of us have a number of other functions to attend and organize on St. Patrick's Day.”

Doherty said one of those other events is a visit from the former president of Ireland. Mary McAleese will be speaking at the Charitable Irish Society's dinner on March 17.

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