Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard
Link copied to clipboard

Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade 2024: Start time, route, road closures, and everything else you need to know

It’ll be a windy St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Dancers from the McDade Cara School of Irish Dance travel down Market Street during Philly's St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 2023.
Dancers from the McDade Cara School of Irish Dance travel down Market Street during Philly's St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 2023.Read moreMonica Herndon / Staff Photographer

The Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade, a tradition celebrating Irish heritage for more than two centuries, returns Sunday. Be prepared for windy conditions and welcoming crowds. (More on that below.)

The parade, set for March 10 at 11 a.m., is expected to attract thousands from the region to see marching bands, Irish step dancers, and cultural groups honor the Emerald Isle and St. Patrick. The nonprofit St. Patrick’s Day Observance Association organizes the event annually on the Sunday before March 17, the day St. Patrick’s Day is observed.

“St. Patrick, Bless Philadelphia with a New Dawn of Hope” is this year’s parade theme and a focal point of the 9 a.m. Catholic Mass held in celebration at St. Patrick’s Church in Rittenhouse.

Also, don’t forget that daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. on March 10, when clocks are set forward by one hour. Arriving an hour early to the parade might not be the worst, considering the festivities that await.

Parade route

The parade starts at 11 a.m. at the intersection of 16th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard (JFK) with a staging area that spans to 20th Street.

The route winds around City Hall, running east on Market Street through Independence Mall, where the performing stage is located, until the parade turns south on Front Street and finally east on Dock Street, where it is scheduled to wrap up around 3 p.m.

If you’re looking for the big performances, camp out near Market Street between Fifth and Sixth Streets.

Parade weather

Bring a windbreaker or warmer jacket. AccuWeather estimates that Sunday will be windy and partly cloudy, with a high of 51 degrees and a low of 34. Currently, rain is not in the forecast.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade road closures

The following streets will be closed starting at 5:30 a.m. until approximately 4 p.m. on Sunday:

  1. Market Street between Fifth and Sixth Streets

The following streets will be closed starting at 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. on Sunday:

  1. John F. Kennedy Boulevard between 15th and 20th Streets

  2. 20th Street between Market and Arch

  3. 19th Street between Market and Arch

  4. 18th Street between Market and Arch

  5. 17th Street between Market and Arch

  6. 16th Street between Market and Arch

  7. 15th Street between Market and Arch

The following streets will be closed starting at 10:30 a.m. (or earlier, depending on traffic conditions) until approximately 3:30 p.m. on Sunday:

  1. John F. Kennedy Boulevard between 15th and Juniper

  2. Juniper Street between John F. Kennedy Boulevard and Market

  3. Market Street between Juniper and Second

  4. All cross streets on Market Street from 13th Street to Fifth Street, between Chestnut and Arch

St. Patrick’s Day parking restrictions

The following streets will become “Temporary No Parking” zones from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday:

  1. 1400-2000 block of John F. Kennedy Boulevard

The following streets will become “Temporary No Parking” zones from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday:

  1. Fifth Street between Chestnut and Market

  2. Sixth Street between Chestnut and Race

  3. Race Street between Fifth and Sixth

  4. Market Street from Juniper to Second

How to get to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade

The easiest way to get to the parade and skip parking is by taking public transportation. Regional Rail, subways, trolleys, and PATCO lines will be operating on a regular Sunday schedule.

Beware of bus detours heading into Center City. SEPTA Bus Routes 2, 4, 12, 16, 21, 23, 27, 31, 32, 42, 45, 47, 47M, 49, 57, 61, 124, and 125 will be detoured starting at 8:30 a.m.

The 5, 17, 33, 38, 44, and 48 bus lines will be detoured starting at 5:30 a.m. The number 12 bus will not be servicing the Second Street and Spruce Street stop.

Detours will end by 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Watch from home

CBS Philadelphia affiliate Philly 57 will broadcast the parade live from noon to 3 p.m. It will be rebroadcast on March 15 on CBS Philadelphia from 9 a.m. to noon and on March 17 on Philly 57 from noon to 3 p.m. On TV, those are channels 13 on Comcast Xfinity and 16 on Verizon FIOS.