Every year since 1962 the St. Patrick’s Parade Day Association of Lackawanna County, PA has conducted this nationally acclaimed parade the weekend before the Feast of St. Patrick, better known as Saint Patrick’s Day.

For 57 years people have traveled far and wide to attend the parade. It is the one day out of the year where everyone is Irish.

This year the parade will be held on March 9th and steps off at 11:45 am at Mulberry St. and Mulberry Ave. and the parade ends at the corner of North Washington and Vine.

The festivities don’t stop when the parade is over. After the parade is finished, you will still find multiple people who are enjoying being Irish for the rest of the night, sometimes even into the early mornings.

The Scranton parade is the largest parade in Northeastern PA and the second largest in the United States. Last year, there were roughly 12,000 people walking in the parade, including bagpipers, Irish Step Dancers, high school bands, local organizations, and other Irish groups. Attendance at the 2008 parade, which featured appearances by Bertie Ahem, Hillary Clinton and Andy Buckley from The Office, was said to be as high as 150,000 people.

Since 1962 the parade has been part of the narrative of Northeastern Pennsylvania, and it will continue to be for a long time to come.

And remember, there are two kinds of people in this world, people who are Irish and people who wish they were!