Savannah calls off St. Patrick’s Day Parade for 2nd year because of COVID. What we know
The Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade has been canceled for the second year in a row because of COVID-19, organizers announced on Tuesday.
A written statement from parade committee general chairman John Fogarty explained that the City of Savannah is not issuing special event permits through at least March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“While this is disappointing, we are confident in the city’s decision. Our top priority has always been to ensure the health, safety and welfare of parade participants and attendees,” Fogarty wrote.
St. Patrick’s Day is Wednesday, March 17.
Savannah’s annual parade is among the largest in the country. The parade and weekend festival typically draw around half a million visitors to the Hostess City from across the country each spring.
The city called off last year’s parade as COVID cases began to mount and municipalities across the country mandated social distancing. The United States is seeing even higher case numbers this winter.
“Since the first Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 1824, there have been extraordinary times when we had to cancel the parade, and this is unfortunately one of those times,” Fogarty’s statement said.
This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 11:25 AM.
