Members of the Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day Club pack Magazine street from curb to curb during the 66th annual Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day Club parade on Saturday, March 12, 2016. (Zach Brien, UptownMessenger.com)
The 70th annual Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day parade will roll Saturday, March 11, on a new route that takes it down most of Magazine Street, the organization announced.
After the traditional noon mass at St. Mary’s Assumption Church at 2030 Constance Street, the parade will begin at 1:30 p.m. at Jefferson Avenue and Magazine Street. The parade will then head straight down Magazine Street until it disbands at Jackson Avenue in the Irish Channel, according to organizers.
Betty Clark of Our Lady Academy will serve as queen of the court this year. Tommy O’Brien, an Irish Channel native and Army veteran, will serve as grand marshal, and Vietnam veteran Billy Lyons is honored as “man of the year.”
Oh, come on! It’s bad enough the Mardi Gras parades start up there! Leave this in the Irish Channel where it should rightfully be! It’s ridiculous.
Completely disagree.
1. With the construction on Louisiana, it is not possible for the parade to run its old route.
2. The Irish Channel route is a big square that completely boxes in residents and burdens the neighborhood with a lot of traffic. This route spreads that traffic out and eliminates the box.
3. I can now walk a few blocks to the route instead of the parade rolling 2 miles away.
Someone posted a sentiment similar to yours on the NextDoor app/website, and the response was that a lot of people who live near Jefferson are happy with the route change.
Happy St Patrick’s Day!
It’s called the IRISH CHANNEL for a reason! A celebration of all things IRISH should be in the IRISH CHANNEL! But then, you may have to walk a few blocks and we can’t have that, now can we?
Everyone I know who lives near Jefferson is as unhappy about it as I am. At this rate, every parade this city has will be starting at Jefferson. It’s an unnecessary inconvenience.
I loved the old route, down Magazine and then back up Annunciation……but, a little girl jumped in front of a float and suddenly Annunciation was too narrow.
I agree that the old route was better. It is just a continuation of the Uptownification of Mardi Gras and St Patty’s day.
I loved hanging in the LGD for the parade, and now it is completely eliminated. Boring!