Denver’s 2021 St. Patrick’s Day Parade canceled
The organizers of Denver’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade announced they will not hold the 2021 event in March, marking the second consecutive year that the popular event was canceled because of the pandemic.
“This decision has been made due to the unlikelihood that a parade will be able to be held safely or legally in Denver in any capacity in the coming months,” organizers wrote on the parade’s website. “Current City of Denver restrictions on special events and gatherings prohibit an event such as the parade from being able to be held. The Committee does not anticipate that these guidelines will relax enough in the next four months for us to be able to produce the parade.”
The parade, one of Denver’s biggest and most popular outdoor cultural events, was set to take place on March 16 last year before it was canceled during the first days of the
U. S. coronavirus response. The 2021 event date had not yet been set.
“It takes many months of planning and hundreds of volunteer hours to put on the safe, fun parade that we produce for our city and state each year,” board member Elizabeth Price said on the event’s website. “In addition, the parade costs thousands of dollars to organize. We cannot, in good conscience, tie up these resources for an event that is likely to be canceled due to the pandemic and the city restrictions surrounding it.”
The parade is expected to return in 2022, which also coincides with the event’s 60th anniversary, organizers said. An estimated 225,000 people attended the 2018 celebration.
“The parade committee hopes to plan smaller
Irish- themed events in conjunction with the local business community during the summer and fall of 2021, as conditions permit,” organizers wrote. “With a little luck of the Irish, we can all expect something big for 2022!”