PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade has been postponed due to COVID-19.
According to the event organizers, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and health concerns surrounding large gatherings prompted them to make the decision to postpone the event that was scheduled for March 13, 2021. Organizers said they want to possibly hold a parade at some point later in the year when it will be safer to do so.
This marks the second straight year the event was not held on the holiday weekend.
Normally, hundreds of thousands of people sporting a whole lot of green line the parade route, but one of the biggest parties of the year is being put on pause again.
The event in Pittsburgh is among the oldest in the country, dating back to 1869.
Local residents and business owners said there is a ripple effect to the latest postponement. However, with COVID-19 still spreading and a shortage of vaccines, it’s the reality of the situation.
“It’s not the safe thing to do, and at the forefront of all of our decisions as a parade committee are the safety and the health and the wellbeing, not only of our parade participants … I mean we have 20,000 people that participate actively,” Ciara Crossey, public relations/communications chair for the parade, said.
This browser does not support the video element.