CHICAGO —Thousands are expected to line Western Avenue for the 2026 South Side Irish St. Patrick’s Day Parade Sunday, March 15. There is no better place to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day outside of Ireland than the South Side of Chicago, and that includes New York City and Boston.
This is the parade’s 48th promenade through Mount Greenwood, Beverly and Morgan Park, which steps off at noon from 103rd Street and Western Avenue. We’ve gathered the parade highlights, historical context and pretty much anything else you’ll need or want to know before heading out for the parade.
The Details
WHEN: Noon, Sunday, March 15
The parade steps off at noon Sunday from 103rd Street and Western Avenue. The parade lasts approximately two hours.
WHERE: Steps off from 103rd and Western Avenue, traveling south to 115th and Western Avenue, through Chicago’s Beverly and Morgan Park neighborhoods.
Getting There
Driving is not recommended, as parking will be limited. If you are in the area, it’s best to walk.
Metra’s Rock Island Line 103rd Street/Beverly Hills and 111th Street/Morgan Park Stations are within walking distance of the parade route. Metra is adding extra trains for the downtown St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Chicago River dyeing, Saturday, March 14, and the South Side Irish Parade, Sunday, March 15.
Trains are expected to be crowded all weekend, and there may not be room for bicycles on the trains. Customers are also asked not to bring backpacks or water bottles on the trains and should also expect slower boarding at stations due to increased passenger loads.
Alcoholic beverages are banned on Metra Rock Island trains. Details about train service are available on Metra.
Street Closures/Parking Restrictions
Beginning at 6 a.m., there will be no street parking allowed on Western Avenue from 99th St. to 119th St. Beginning at 7 a.m., there will be no street parking allowed on the east side of Artesian from 103rd to 111th. There will be no parking on the west side of Claremont from 103rd to 107th.
Expect traffic to be restricted on Western Avenue and surrounding side streets beginning at 9 a.m. On all east/west streets leading to Western Ave. between 103rd and 115th, expect portions of the street to be closed within 75 feet of Western Avenue or between the first alleyway and Western Avenue.
Parking and traffic restrictions are expected to be lifted by 3 p.m. The Parade Committee encourages everyone to pay attention to signs in the area.
Safety First
The South Side Irish St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee is dedicated to ensuring a safe, family-friendly celebration of Irish heritage and culture. The volunteer committee works with the City of Chicago, local community organizations, schools and neighbors to present a family-friendly annual march down Western Avenue. There will be security checkpoints surrounding the parade route staffed by private security and the Chicago.
Chicago police will be issuing tickets for any drinking on the public way including streets, sidewalks and alleys, and close to the parade per the Chicago Municipal Ordinance.
Comfort Stop
Beverly Evangelical Covenant Church, 10545 S. Claremont Ave., will open their doors starting at 11:30 a.m. until approximately one hour after the parade ends. Visitors are welcome to use the bathrooms, enjoy a free snack, feed and change infants, or take a break from the weather. A worship service will be held at 9:30 a.m. ending before the parade.
Grand Marshal
Tunnel to Towers Foundation is a national nonprofit helping America’s heroes by providing mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children and by building specially adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. The foundation was created to honor the life and legacy of Fire Department of New York firefighter Stephen Siller, who laid down his life to save others on Sept. 11, 2001.
Riding upon the float will be Chicago-area fallen first responder families and injured first responders who have received a mortgage-free home from the Foundation.
Parade Honoree
St. Christina Catholic Parish in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood is named Parade Nominee. The parish is celebrating its 100th anniversary and serves many Chicago first-responders. More than 80 percent of the children attending St. Christina’s grammar school are the sons and daughters of police and fire personnel. Rev. Ryan Brady, pastor of St. Christina, also serves as chaplain for the Chicago Fire Department.
Parade Queen
Born-and-raised South Sider Erin Larkin will ride down Western Avenue – rain or shine (and sometimes snow) – in an open convertible as the 2026 South Side Irish Parade. Larkin is originally from the St. Christina Parish, this year’s parade honoree, and is a graduate of Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School. She was selected by the parade committee for her deep roots in Chicago’s Irish community. Larkin’s family is the Larkin and Moran Brothers, a traditional Irish band comprised of members from both sides of her family.
Parade History
This year’s event will mark the 48th South Side Irish Parade. The parade started in 1979 when a group of neighborhood kids and their families marched around the block in little buggies and with homemade posters. Even in 2020, when the city canceled the larger event at the beginning of the pandemic, the “Wee Folks of Washtenaw and Talman,” marched down the sidewalk on the east side of Western Avenue, keeping the parade’s streak going.
Parade Highlights Sights and Sounds:
- Grand Marshal: Tunnel to Towers Foundation, large float and marchers including, individuals and families supported by T2T mortgage-free homes and Smart Homes from across the Chicagoland area.
- Honoree: St. Christina Parish – 100th Anniversary Celebration, large float and hundreds of marchers led by Rev. Ryan Brady, pastor and chaplain for Chicago Fire Dept.
- 5 pipe bands with lead off by Stock Yard Kilty, Chicago’s oldest continuously run pipe and drum band; 6 area high school marching bands; and 484th Army band.
- Meet & Greet Lucky Bill, ambassador for Wind Creek Chicago Southland Casino will be on the west side of Western Avenue at 108th Street with St. Patrick’s Day giveaways.
- Free Samples of Mr. Pibb and Mr. Pibb Zero plus Java Monster Food Truck on the west side of Western Avenue at 108th street starting 11 a.m. through the Parade
- Irish American Alliance with Irish wolf hounds
- Irish dancers from Cross Keys and Weber Irish Dance Schools
- Consulate General of Ireland Consul General, Brian Cahalane and Ireland’s Minister for Housing, Government & Heritage, James Browne.
- Honor Guards: Chicago Police; AFFI and Cook County Sheriff Honor Guards
- Light the Line (Foundation bringing first of its kind mobile well being mobile unit to law enforcement personnel, Founded by Elizabeth French, the late CPD Officer Ella French’s mother)
- Original Baby Buggy Parade Float From 1st South Side Irish Parade in 1979 “Wee Folks of Washtnaw and Talman”
- Local high school state champions: Mount Carmel H.S. Football; Brother Rice H.S. Football; Marist H.S. Boys Volleyball; Marist H.S. Girls Volleyball; St. Laurence Baseball.
- Red & white Ozinga concrete mixer truck, 4th-generation family-owned business
- Metra
- Jolly Giant Stilt Walkers
- Chicago White Sox and the Southpaw mascot
- Windy City Ghostbusters – enthusiasts make and wear movie-accurate costumes
- Fire Museum of Chicago old-fashioned Engine 10
- CTA Mini bus
- Big Shoulders Fund, last year’s Grand Marshal.
- Floats with live Irish music
- 12 local parishes, area high schools, area Scout troops, Irish family floats, many community organizations and small businesses.
Schedule Of Events
- 9 a.m. – Floats begin staging on Western Ave.
- 11:45 a.m. – Grand Marshal Tunnel to Towers representative Aric Grooms, senior manager of development, parade honoree St. Christina, and the Consul General of Ireland will cut the ribbon to kick off the parade at 103rd and Western Avenue.
- Noon – Parade steps off at 103rd and Western Ave., marching to 115th and Western Avenue. The parade is expected to last two hours.
Sponsors
The South Side Irish St. Patrick’s Day Parade is generously supported by local area businesses including:
Wind Creek Southland Chicago, Metra, County Fair Foods, Old National Bank, Buona Beef, Original Rainbow Cone, Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Ozinga, The Beverly Review, Flood Brothers, Home Run Inn Beverly, Beverly Bank & Trust Company, N.A., Hilton Chicago/Oak Lawn, McCready Law, OSF Little Company of Mary Medical Center, Athletex Physical Therapy, Marquette Bank, The Busking Family, Raising Cane’s, Keeper’s Heart Irish American Whiskey, Hilton Oak Lawn, Athletex Sports and Orthopecic Therapy,, Gas N’ Wash, Chicago White Sox, Disparti Law, SAFE Electrical, Rose Pest Solutions, South Side Irish Imports; Lakeshore Beverage, Roofers and Waterproofers Local 11, IUEC Local 2; UIPAT District 14; Plumbers Local 130, IBEW Local 134, IUOELocal 399, IUOE Local 150, Guinness, Bud Light, Green River, Union Life Insurance Company, Taxman, Pollock Murray & Bekkerman, LLC, ComEd and Megent Financial, Republic Bank, South Side Irish Imports, Cook County North America Building Trades and more.
The article Your 2026 South Side Irish Parade Survival Guide: Know Before You Go appeared first on Beverly-MtGreenwood .