PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh’s St. Patrick Day parade draws in tens of thousands of people from our area and from out of town.
“I’m born and raised here in Pittsburgh but I’m from Florida now and came back because it’s St. Patrick’s Day here in Pittsburgh,” said Jill Ammon.
Jill Ammon is one of many people looking forward to Saturday’s annual St. Patricks Day parade. This will be the first normal celebration since 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bar and restaurant owners said it’s a great boost in business.
“This month of March is equivalent to three and half months out of the year,” said Owner of Harp and Fiddle, David Regan. “It pays a lot of bills and it’s a lot of fun so we look forward to it.”
Pittsburgh Public Safety has been preparing for the parade for months. It starts downtown at 10 a.m. Afterwards, large crowds are expected to continue the celebrations downtown, in the Strip District, South Side and North Shore.
City fire inspectors along with Allegheny County Health Department will be doing compliance checks at bars and restaurants too.
“There will be occupancy checks to make sure the bars aren’t overcrowded in case an incident would happen inside of a bar,” said Lee Schmidt, Director of Public Safety. “That’s always a concern.”
There will also be extra law enforcement as well as fire and EMS. The Mayor said his message is to be safe, responsible and have fun.
“I want everyone to enjoy themselves, to be safe take care of everything but enjoy and go to the restaurants, go shopping. Have a good time, enjoy our beautiful city,” said Mayor Ed Gainey.
Officials are asking those who will be drinking to use public transportation, ride share apps or have a designated driver to get around and home safely.
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