Happy St. Patrick’s Day 2022, Kansas City. Your guide to parades, parties and more

After two years of little to no St. Patrick’s Day festivities because of the pandemic, the celebrations around town are roaring back this year.

Kansas City presents the biggest parade of the season, but there are plenty more in the area. And the fun won’t end on St. Patrick’s Day.

The Emerald Isle Parade in Lee’s Summit and the Brookside St. Patrick’s Day Warm-up Parade were postponed a week from March 12 because of the snow and cold. (But last weekend’s Snake Saturday Parade in North Kansas City, as well as parades in Overland Park and Shawnee, soldiered on.) This week’s forecast is more springlike.

Here are five favorite ways to celebrate the holiday:

1. Parades

The KC St. Patrick’s Day Parade will begin at 11 a.m. March 17 at Linwood and Broadway boulevards and work its way south along Broadway to 43rd Street. The theme is “Doing an Irish Dance!,” and the grand marshal is Irish Fest board president Pete McCluskey. kcirishparade.com.

Also:

▪ Downtown Blue Springs (Shortest and Smallest St. Patrick’s Day Parade), 9 a.m. March 17. downtownbluesprings.com.

▪ Downtown Leavenworth, noon March 17. lvirish.com.

▪ Downtown Lawrence, 1 p.m. March 17. lawrencestpatricksdayparade.com.

▪ Downtown Lee’s Summit, noon March 19 (postponed from March 12 due to weather). downtownls.org.

▪ Brookside, 1 p.m. March 19 (postponed from March 12 due to weather). brooksidekc.org.

2. Traditional venues

▪ Kelly’s Westport Inn, 10 a.m.-2 a.m. March 17. kellyswestportinn.com.

▪ Browne’s Irish Marketplace, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. March 17. brownesirishmarket.com.

3. Big parties

▪ Westport, all day March 17. westportkcmo.com.

▪ Kansas City Live! (with Loud Luxury and DJ Ashton Martin), 5 p.m. March 17. powerandlightdistrict.com.

4. Concerts

▪ The Nace Brothers and KC’s shortest parade, 5:45 p.m. March 17, Knuckleheads ($10). knuckleheadskc.com.

▪ Socks in the Frying Pan, 6:30 p.m. March 17, Kansas City Irish Center ($15-$30). irishcenterkc.org.

5. Race

▪ St. Patrick’s 5K, 8 a.m. March 19, Park Place, Leawood ($39-$42; Kids Fun Run, $12-$15). kcstpatricks5k.com.

This story was originally published March 16, 2022 at 5:00 AM.

Dan Kelly

The Kansas City Star

Dan Kelly has been covering entertainment and arts news at The Star since 2009. He previously worked at the Columbia Daily Tribune, The Miami Herald and The Louisville Courier-Journal. He also was on the University of Missouri School of Journalism faculty for six years, and he has written two books, most recently “The Girl with the Agate Eyes: The Untold Story of Mattie Howard, Kansas City’s Queen of the Underworld.”