St. Patrick’s Parade returns to Beale

After two years of pandemic disruption, the St. Patrick’s Parade returns this year to Beale Street.

What is being billed as the 49th Annual Silky Sullivan St. Patrick’s Parade is set to begin at 3 p.m. March 12 — the Saturday before the actual March 17 commemoration of St. Patrick’s Day — on Beale Street.

The parade ends at 5:30 p.m. with the traditional “Blessing of the Kegs” in Beale’s Handy Park.

“We’re thinking of this as the kickoff to spring and, hopefully, all things normal,” said Joellyn Sullivan, owner of Silky O’sullivan’s, the bar and restaurant at 183 Beale that has maintained an Irish presence on the home street of the blues.

“This is the beginning of our path out of the pandemic,” said Sullivan, whose husband, the late Thomas “Silky” Sullivan, was a dedicated promoter of St. Patrick’s Day.

Kevin Kane, president and CEO of Memphis Tourism, is king of this year’s “parade court.” The queen is Peggy Mcnamara Flanagan, daughter of Mark Flanagan, co-founder of “Irish Eyes of Memphis,” the organization that was instrumental in promoting St. Patrick’s Day locally.

In 2020, the parade was canceled after the COVID-19 lockdowns hit Shelby County. In 2021, the parade’s sponsors, the Beale Street Merchants Association, hosted a very belated St. Patrick’s Day celebration in May, when the virus had abated.

Spectators are invited to wear green as they cheer on the parade’s participants, who will represent such organizations as the Shelby County Sheriff ’s Department, the Memphis Fire Department, the Shriners, the Memphis Redbirds, the 901 FC professional soccer team, the Sassy Seniors (a dance squad for senior women), and others.

The parade is part of a weeklong series of events centered on Beale that begins March 10.

Applications for organizations to participate are still being accepted. The application can be downloaded at bealestreet.com/st-patricks-day-parade.