Bay Ridge’s 28th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade was held with its typical pomp and circumstance this Sunday, with revelers coming together to celebrate and honor Irish heritage and traditions.
Parade-goers were treated to tunes of traditional Irish bagpipe music and dancing, and were joined by this year’s Bay Ridge St. Patrick’s Day parade marshals to truly enjoy the festivities.
The Bay Ridge St. Patrick’s Day Parade was founded by the former owner of Leif Erickson Pub on Fifth Avenue, the late Gene Reilly.
Reilly wanted to share his own love and appreciation for Irish culture and believed that there was always room for one more parade in the city, thus starting the tradition of the Bay Ridge St. Patrick’s Day Parade which runs along Third Avenue, starting at Marine Avenue and ending at 67th Street.
For this year’s parade, organizers dedicated the celebration to “those all those lost to COVID-19 and the hero frontline workers.”
Joining in the celebrations were several elected officials who took to the streets to join in the parade and the festivities.
“Big smiles and large crowds as we celebrate the St. Patrick’s Day parade along 3rd Avenue in Bay Ridge!” said Assembly Member Alec Brook-Krasny of NY District 46 in an Instagram post March 26. “The luck of the Irish gave us sunshine and blue skies to honor the pride of Irish-Americans.”
Event co-sponsor, City Council Member Justin Brannan, also attended the parade and saluted the event and its organizers for another successful year.
“Put it in the books! Another great Bay Ridge St. Patrick’s Day Parade!” Brannan tweeted on Sunday. “Congratulations to all the marshals and honorees and big thanks to the parade committee for all their hard work in making today possible! See ya next year! Sláinte!”
To learn more about the Bay Ridge St. Patrick’s Day Parade, visit the organization’s website at www.brparade.com.
