Cead Mile Failte! (100,000 welcomes)! The 2012 Charlotte St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Charlotte Goes Green Festival invites our sponsors, our vendors, and you to participate in the Sixteenth Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Charlotte Goes Green  Festival, which will take place on Saturday, March 17, 2012

Over 60,000 spectators watched Charlotte’s Fifteenth Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade as it marched through the heart of Charlotte to the sound of pipes and the cheers of the spectators lining the streets. The combination of flags, floats, kids, and pipe band music made everyone smile and be Irish for a day. The Sixteenth Annual Parade promises to be even bigger and better!

The Charlotte Goes Green Festival was the most well attended to date as capacity crowds enjoyed the beautiful weather as they listened to Irish music, watched performances by Irish dancers, played in the Celtic Kids Zone, had lots to eat and checked out the great Irish/Celtic vendors that attend the festival from around the U.S.

Parade:

The St. Patrick’s Day Parade is a non-profit event, open to the public. The Parade is open to neighborhood associations, schools, alumni groups, cheerleading and drill teams, international organizations, police, fire, elected officials, commercial businesses, and anyone else who wants to be Irish for a day.  

The parade will step off at 11:00 A.M. at Tryon and 9th street in uptown Charlotte. The parade will march South to Tryon St. and 3rd. Street.  

You can apply online for the 2012 Parade on the website www.charlottestpatsday.com/application.htm.

Grand Marshal:

We are very proud to announce that the 2012 Grand Marshal is Bill Duffy, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer for Bobcat Sports & Entertainment. Bill has an extensive resume in professional sports and he has won many accolades from the Irish-American community over the years. For more information on Bill, click on the Grand Marshal tab. We welcome our 2012 Grand Marshal!

Festival:

We expect that the 2012 Charlotte Goes Green Festival will be our biggest and most attended yet. There will be something for everyone of all ages to enjoy.

The Festival is located on S. Tryon St. between 1st St & 3rd St.The festival hours are 10AM – 6:30PM and features Irish music, Irish dancers, bagpipers, food, vendors and plenty of beverages. There is no admission fee to attend.

Check out our photos page for pictures of the 2011 parade and festival.

We’ll have more announcements throughout the year about festival activities. Keep watching this site for updates.

For further information contact Frank Hart at: 803-802-1678 or via e-mail at [email protected].

Slainte’,

Linda Dyer Hart - Parade Executive Director

Art Fitzgerald, Parade Director