No luck this year for St. Patrick’s events

Annual celebrations in Tinley Park, Manhattan canceled due to virus

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced cancellations of Irish-themed events in Tinley Park and Manhattan.

Tinley Park’s annual Irish Parade, which marked its 21st year in 2020, won’t march through the village’s downtown next month, while organizers of the Manhattan Irish Fest, which had been scheduled for March 7 and 8 and would include the traditional parade, said that the pandemic led them to cancel that event.

Tinley Park officials decided last month to not hold the parade, held in advance of St. Patrick’s Day and which typically draws thousands of spectators and includes school marching bands, pipes and drums groups, businesses, churches, civic organizations and politicians.

Both the Tinley Park and Manhattan events were held early last March, just before the pandemic brought executive orders from Gov. J.B. Pritzker that shuttered many businesses and put a halt to large outdoor gatherings.

Tinley Park will instead promote, during March, Irish or St. Patrick’s themed specials and sales at village businesses, according to Donna Framke, the village’s marketing director.

The village is also working with businesses along the Oak Park Avenue business district on a Find the Leprechaun contest, with more details coming this week, she said.

Oak Forest Fleadh, that suburb’s Irish festival, is sporting a different look this year, with the regular 5K race being a virtual event. From March 6 through 17, participants are encouraged to walk or run on their own or with family and friends.

The Fleadh Around Town will still feature the family parade, which steps off at 11 a.m. on the March 6 at Oak Forest High School, 152nd Street and Central Avenue, and continues south to the Oak Forest Park District offices at 15601 S. Central.

There will be children’s activities from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. March 6 at the district’s offices and concessions will be available for purchase.

With the city of Chicago not issuing parade permits, the annual South Side Irish Parade on Chicago’s Southwest Side was canceled earlier this month. It had been scheduled for March 14 and was canceled last year as well, just days before the event, due to the pandemic.

However, parade organizers are sponsoring a Shamrock Our Blocks house decorating contest, with a grand prize of $1,000 plus $1,000 in gift cards from businesses. There is a $20 registration fee.

The deadline to submit a photo of a decorate house is March 4, with the parade committee announcing winners March 13 on its Facebook page.

More information is at southsideirishparade.org.