The Bayside Saint Patrick’s Day Parade will make its grand return in September after COVID-19 forced organizers to postpone the celebration from its original date in March.
The parade’s committee made the announcement at a luncheon last week and confirmed that they were set to march on Sept. 18, 2021. On the official parade Facebook page, organizers added that the September celebration would mark the halfway point to St. Patrick’s Day in 2022.
Parade president Francis McLoughlin told the Irish Voice it’s “99.9 percent certain” that the parade will happen in September. The committee applied for a permit with the NYPD, which is “on track” for approval.
On June 15, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that he would lift most COVID-19 restrictions as 70 percent of adults in the state received at least one shot of the vaccine. In addition to the parade, other activities in retail, construction, manufacturing, entertainment and sports and recreation are slowly making their return.
Members of the Bayside community started the parade in 2018 to showcase their Irish pride and the event quickly grew in popularity. The last parade in 2019 saw participation from more than 70 local groups including schools, civic organizations, marching and pop bands and dance groups.
Weeks before the third annual Bayside parade in 2020, organizers announced that the celebration was canceled amid growing COVID-19 concerns.
In early 2021, the committee canceled the parade for a second year in a row but remained hopeful that they would return in March 2022.
The committee renominated Eileen Flannelly Mackell as the parade’s grand marshal as well as aides Tommy Mulvihill, Robert Lynch, Joe Donovan, John Golden, Tom Golden and Father Chris Henue.
As in years past, the parade will take place along Bell Boulevard. To learn more, visit baysidesaintpatricksdayparade.org or the parade’s official Facebook page.
