Featured image: Visit Savannah
If you’re Irish, you’re certainly lucky, but if you’re not, you can travel to Savannah, Georgia, and be Irish for the day. The city hosts the country’s third-largest (and the South’s largest) St. Patrick’s Day celebration, swelling with visitors every March 17.
We’re sharing insider information from a local that will help you enjoy everything green and get a spot to watch the parade, too.
Why Savannah?
Savannah’s Irish history is legitimate. Immigrants from Wexford are among the other early settlers who arrived in Georgia in the 1730s. The biggest numbers arrived in the 1830s and 40s as the Irish came to fill the need for laborers to build canals and railroads across the rapidly growing state. The potato famine caused more to flee Ireland, finding family and friends in the already growing Irish neighborhoods.
Now, many in this Southern town are descendants of those families. With names like Fogarty, Hogan, McCarthy and Buttimer (and many more), families walk among an entertaining selection of floats, bands, and military battalions to celebrate this day every year.
Getting Ready
February is the start of the season, with the Savannah Irish Festival giving locals a chance to enjoy traditional foods, music, and dance. The parade’s Grand Marshall is chosen, and, like this year’s selection of Jay Burke III, they are often a descendant of someone who has held the position in the past. The fountains in the historic city are dyed green to reflect the season in the weeks before the parade.
Hopefully dawning with some of Savannah’s typical sunny weather, St. Patrick’s Day starts with a mass held in the Cathedral Basilica of John the Baptist, an architectural Gothic Revival beauty that draws comparisons to Cinderella’s castle. The service is open to the public, but usually packed with the local Irish green-wearing crews.
With much organizational skill, the parade committee gets the entire length of the procession lined up in and around Forsyth Park to start at 10:15. There’s much anticipation from the crowd before the police escort signals the beginning, eliciting racuous cheers from the sidelines.
How to Find a Viewing Spot
By far the simplest way to assure a spot is at the bleachers offered by Kelly Tours. Tickets are sold for four locations on the parade route that are controlled to ensure a great view. There’s also an option for a VIP party, complete with green beer and breakfast, plus seats on the VIP bleachers on Bay Street. Perhaps the biggest benefits are the clean bathrooms available with this option. But, if you have a big group planned, you may want to get involved in Savannah’s famous parade land grab.
You’ll need to bring patience and all of your polite manners to navigate the tense competition for coveted viewing spots in Savannah’s squares. Some families have been setting up in the same corners for decades and they are super serious about their territory, no matter what rules are changed for the city.
People flank the sidewalks from the very early hours of parade morning to be first into the square when the police blow their whistle at 6 a.m. There’s a rush with tables, chairs, tents, stakes, and tape to make sure there is enough room for your group.
Once everyone is settled, good humor returns. Everyone graciously shares food and fun while waiting on the parade.
Best Traditions of the Parade
Certainly, the crowd waits for the clopping sound of Clydesdale hooves on the city streets, but there are other notable traditions that you might not be familiar with if you aren’t from Savannah. The local Catholic boy’s school has an ROTC group that marches in the parade every year, and young ladies, moms, and grandmothers make sure to have bright red lipstick in their pocket to mark their favorite Benedictine Cadet with a kiss.
By the end of the parade, the boys are covered with marks, acting like they hate it, but convincing no one. The tradition often extends to the military, police and fire brigades in the parade, depending on the level of required security every year. This may be why groups come from New York, Boston, and New Jersey to celebrate Irish roots in Savannah.
Local Shriners organizations drive go-carts, have belly dancers, clowns, and the Keystone Cops, who will write you a ticket if provoked. Don’t worry, it’s all harmless fun when they cite you for ‘looking suspicious.’
In Savannah’s downtown area, bars and restaurants allow you to take your drinks to go. You can’t walk around with a bottle, but you certainly can have your beverage of choice in a cup to enjoy the day. The Savannah Downtown Business Association designed an aluminum reusable version to cut down on waste. As a bonus, you can share your pictures with the cup with the hashtag #SAV2GO.
Types of Fun
Organizers are focused on keeping the family-friendly atmosphere of the parade. In years past, the city was known for hard partying, but rules for bar zones have kept the zealous more confined to certain areas. The parade lasts for hours and any family might need a nap when it’s finished. The after parties are hosted by area bars, starting when the street sweepers end the parade. Walk to River Street to check out the scene, but be prepared for the crowds.
Sláinte!
