Brilliant morning skies and balmy March temperatures brought thousands to Downtown Pittsburgh today for the city’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade and related festivities.
Green-clad spectators jammed the sidewalks along Grant Street and the Boulevard of the Allies to watch school bands, Irish dance troupes, musicians, Gaelic cultural groups, elected officials and even a couple sheep from a Jefferson Hills farm make their way along the parade route.
Billed as the second-largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the U.S. and sponsored by the Irish Society for Education & Charity, the event this year honored the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising — the 1916 armed rebellion in Dublin by Irish nationalists protesting British rule.
Most parade-goers weren’t contemplating history, though, as they turned out in floppy green hats, shiny green beads and temporary shamrock tattoos for what many expected would be an all-day celebration.
“I’m not Irish but I fake it well,” said Mary Jane Frankowski of O’Hara, as she and her husband, Scott Frankowski, crossed the Fort Duquesne Bridge from the North Shore on foot just before the parade kicked off at 10 a.m.
“It’s a long, good parade, and I like the party and friendly people,” she said.
In Market Square, several blocks away from the parade, a crowd grew steadily throughout the morning for the family-friendly Irish Fair in the Square.
While the two-man band Weekend at Blarney’s performed Irish music on stage, street busker Brady Wegener of Brackenridge captivated children and adults with his juggling act that included knives, a power saw and a flaming torch.
After 1 p.m., revelers were allowed to bring open drink containers with alcohol into the square.
“The weather is the star of the show,” noted Maura Krushinski, director of the Pittsburgh Irish Festival who was overseeing the Celtic Gift Shoppe booth in the square.
Besides an array of Irish wool hats, scarves and handmade Irish jewelry, the shop was selling Irish stew for $5 a serving, shortbread and boxes of traditional Irish tea brands Bewley’s and Barry’s.
Proceeds benefited the parade committee, said Ms. Krushinski whose maternal great-grandmother emigrated from County Donegal, Ireland, at age 16, and whose father’s family traces their ancestry to County Cork.
“Everyone knows their Irish story,” she said.
Joyce Gannon: jgannon@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1580.
First Published: March 12, 2016, 1:35 p.m.
Updated: March 12, 2016, 6:42 p.m.
