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Photos: KC St. Patrick’s Day Parade—a celebration of culture and anything green

By The Kansas City Star and Photos by Dominick Williams

March 17, 2025 6:06 PM

Sabrina Gurdes expresses joy while wearing shamrock in her head during the Kansas City St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Monday, Mar. 17, 2025. Kansas City hosts one of the largest St. Patrick’s Day parades in the country every year. Dominick Williams dowilliams@kcstar.com

You don’t have to be Irish to participate in the Kansas City St. Patrick’s Day parade and it’s unlikely anyone is going to call you out if you want to pretend you are for just one day.

Thousands of people lined the parade route along Broadway Boulevard Monday to see the annual celebration.

The parade is still full of serious nods to it’s namesake St. Patrick and the families of Irish descent who call Kansas City home, but that dedication to traditions doesn’t get in the way of letting everyone else in on the fun. The diverse cultures of Kansas City come together in this parade in the form of lowriders, high-energy drill teams , drum corps and floats packed with families who trace their roots to Ireland.

Another thing you don’t have to do if you want to be part of the parade, either marching or watching it go by, is wear green. Few people seemed to have received that memo though.

Here are scenes from Monday’s Kansas City St. Patrick’s Day parade.