Pittsburgh's St. Patrick's Day parade, celebration ranked among best in country

Let’s face it: A good many major cities east of Chicago claim to have a great St. Patrick’s Day Parade — among the best in the U.S., they say, including New York and Philadelphia (the origins of which date back to before the Declaration of Independence, according to organizers).

Even Savannah, Ga., stakes a claim due its extensive Irish-American population, which likely inspired author Margaret Mitchell to create the O’Hara family for “Gone With the Wind.”

If you’re going strictly by the number of spectators, however, Chicago and New York are tied for the top spot with over 2 million onlookers apiece, according to the Trusted Tours Guide website.

Pittsburgh City Councilman Corey O’Connor said his information indicates Pittsburgh’s St. Patrick’s Day parade ranks right up there.

“I’ll say it. I think ours is number one, but other people can dispute that,” said O’Connor. “But when it comes to size of participants as well as viewership of the actual parade, I know we’re definitely in the Top 3 for just that alone.”

The personal-finance website WalletHub ranks Pittsburgh third on its list of the top 20 cities for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. To make that determination, the website said it compared 200 of the largest U.S. cities when it came to things like the number of Irish pubs and restaurants per capita to the lowest price for a three-star hotel on St. Patrick’s Day to the weather forecast.

For his part, O’Connor said he’s just happy to have an actual parade during St. Patrick’s Day week for the first time since 2019. (Pittsburgh traditionally holds its parade on the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day, March 17.)

“After a couple year hiatus, we expect a lot of people to be out there,” he said. “People are excited. They want to celebrate. So many people have traditions and start their routines at 8 a.m. I think it’s good that people are starting that again.

“I haven’t missed a parade since I was probably about 6 or 7 years old. The family always walks and I buy about $900 worth of candy to pass out. This should be fun.”

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald remembers that the 2020 St. Patrick’s Day Parade was the first major event to be canceled when the pandemic hit Pittsburgh. He expects people to embrace its return, despite a snowy forecast for Saturday.

“I think there’s this pent-up desire to get outside and be with people and that type of thing,” said Fitzgerald. “We understand the weather might not be ideal this Saturday, but I think there’s a real feeling of enthusiasm, a real feeling of optimism as hopefully we’re coming to the end of the pandemic, we’re coming to the end of winter.”