On a chilly day, Kansas City celebrates with annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Kansas City’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, one of the nation’s largest stepped off at 11 a.m.
Tens of thousands of Kansas Citians were expected to descend on the parade route along Broadway Boulevard in Midtown and Westport. The parade starts at Linwood Boulevard and ends at 43rd Street around 1:30 p.m.
Conditions were hovering right around freezing at the start of the parade, which might keep the crowd size a little lower than previous years.
Members of the Staley High School’s Onyx Step Team went through step moves to warm up prior to the parade.
Kathy Nelson, president and CEO of the Kansas City Sports Commission and Visit KC, will be grand marshal of this year’s parade, which has the theme of ‘23 in KC: Our Irish Ancestry.
Update 12:45 p.m.: Troopers with the Missouri Highway Patrol’s Troop A, which covers the Kansas City area, were helping Kansas City police at the parade.
“Come on out and see us & everyone else who is going to be part of the parade!” they said on Twitter. “But mostly us . . . right?
Meanwhile, the Kansas City Police Department posted a video to TikTok accompanied with an Irish jig to get people into the spirit.
Update 12:25 p.m.: Members of the Kansas City Marching Falcons pumped up the crowed as its members performed their routine in the parade.
The Marching Falcons has won numerous awards and traveled around the country, performing at events, parades and festivals.
The drill team, founded by Shakina Dawkins, is an after-school of the arts program where members receive tutoring if needed.
Update 5 a.m.: “No Parking” signs went up in advance along the parade route. Police started enforcing the parking restrictions at 5 a.m., ticketing and towing vehicles off the route.
The entire route was to closed to traffic about 8 a.m., said Officer Donna Drake, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City Police Department.
Staging areas will be along Linwood between Main Street and Pennsylvania Avenue as well as along Broadway between 31st and Linwood. The parade will end in an area along Mill Creek Parkway, between 43rd and 47th Street/Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard.
People can park at available spots on the streets in the area. Various parking lots along the route also are available for a fee. See the event’s website for a map and cost of parking.
The following lots are not available for public parking and vehicles parking there may be towed: Uptown Shoppes at 3600 Broadway, Housing Authority of Kansas City at 3822 Summit St., Sun Fresh in Westport and World Market in Westport.
People are allowed to bring coolers, preferably personal sized, but glass containers and alcohol are not allowed on the parade route. Under city ordinances, police may search and confiscate coolers, according to the event’s website.
Because of the expected crowd, people are encouraged to leave their pets at home for their safety and the safety of others. Portable restrooms will be set up along the parade route.
This story was originally published March 17, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
