St. Patrick's Parade, Party Plans Announced

Smiling Irish eyes will line the streets of Bethlehem on Saturday March 17 for the second annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Celebration.

The Celtic Cultural Alliance on Wednesday released details of the celebration, which organization Executive Director Jayne Ann Recker said will be the kickoff event for the 25th anniversary Celtic Classic to take place in September.

“We are pulling out all the stops to celebrate with more floats, more bands and lots of surprises," Recker said through a news release.

The celebration will culminate with a ticketed event in a weather-controlled tent at the festival grounds under the Hill-to-Hill Bridge, featuring food, drink, Irish dancers and music by the Glengarry Bhoys.

Tickets are priced at $15 for the general public, though there are discounts for Alliance members, volunteers, parade participants and college students.

"The City of Bethlehem is proud to have the CCA continue the celebration of Celtic Heritage," said Mayor John Callahan in a news release. "We are always supportive of the creative efforts of CCA because they are a valuable partner that understands the need for community involvement and economic growth of our downtowns."

The Celtic Classic Parade of Shamrocks will get under way at 1 p.m. on W. Broad Street and 13th Avenue, proceed east to Main Street, where it will turn south and end at the Hill-to-Hill Bridge.

The party under the tent will get under way at 1:30 p.m.

Among the activities planned there is a Finnegan’s Wake: Whoever can make the dead guy laugh wins a prize.

It wouldn’t be an Irish celebration in Bethlehem if there weren’t performances by the O’Grady-Quinlan Academy of Irish Dance.

The Glengarry Bhoys, the featured performers at last year’s celebration, hit the stage at 6 p.m.

There are still slots open for groups or businesses interested in participating in the parade. We have an application form PDF attached to this article for you to submit to the Alliance.