SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is coming back on Saturday after being on a two-year hiatus.
Although St. Patrick's Day falls on March 17 every year, Spokane residents will get the chance to celebrate the holiday on Saturday, March 12.
The parade will return to downtown Spokane for the 42nd year on Saturday, March 12 at noon. However, this year's parade will come with many changes, starting with the staging area.
According to a statement by The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, attendees typically meet at the parking lot to the east of the Spokane Arena. However, due to the constriction of the new downtown stadium and the completion of the Podium Sports Arena, the parade will now shift its staging to streets further east with the use of Calispel, Normandie and Atlantic.
The parade committee is still planning the event and participants are encouraged to pre-register online.
“While there will be a place to register on parade day it will be much more limited than in the past,” Kevin Cotter, parade president said in a statement. “It will make for a much better time for everyone to be all registered in advance."
Some of the participants leading this year’s parade include Grand Marshal, Matt Santangelo, formerly from Spokane Hoopfest, and Irish Man of the Year, coach Matty McIntyre of the 2020 4A state champions from Gonzaga Prep.
Along with Santangelo and McIntyre, The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, also announced its other 2022 dignitaries which include the following:
- Irish Business: No-Li
- Irish Woman: Laury McLaughlin
- Irish Clan: Flying Irish
- Irish Colleen: Diedra McCleen
Dignitaries will be honored at the traditional Irish Coffee on the morning of the parade at Jack and Dan’s Tavern.
Certain streets throughout downtown will be closed to make way for the parade, though times will be staggered to allow access to most areas of the city. Between 6 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. the following streets will be closed: Washington St. from Spokane Falls Blvd. to Boone Ave., Normandie St. from Boone Ave. to Cataldo Ave., Calispel St. from Boone Ave. to Cataldo Ave., Cataldo Ave. between Normandie St. and Washington St., and North River Dr. between Division St. and Washington St.
The streets along the parade route will be closed starting at 11 a.m. and will remain closed until the end of the parade around 2 p.m. in which street cleaners will follow the last float to make sure the streets can reopen.
To take a closer look at the 2022 parade route and staging area map, click here
