The party will be happening this Saturday. The destination? Downtown Roanoke. The occasion? The ever-popular Freedom First St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Shamrock Festival.
The festival begins at 10 a.m. in the plaza behind the City Market Building, while the parade itself kicks off an hour later at 11 a.m. The parade begins on Jefferson Street at Elm Avenue, continues on to Campbell Avenue, and stretches all the way to Williamson Road.
The day will feature live music, vendors and adult beverages.
Downtown Roanoke Inc. Director of Marketing and Communications Brittany Smith says that the day isn’t just good for Downtown Roanoke, but for many local businesses as well.
“You have so many folks that perhaps don’t visit downtown Roanoke too often, so this is a great opportunity to pop in and see some of the local businesses and really support those local businesses,” Smith said.
Restaurants like Martin’s and Corned Beef & Co. will be offering their own specials and parties for people to come by and enjoy.
Martin’s owner, Jason Martin, told 10 News that the parade is one of the restaurant’s biggest days and that he expects a rush of people.
“We have it circled on our calendar months and months out, so the planning has been going on for months,” Martin said. “Booking bands, getting staff lined up, all of it goes into our production with stages and sound and lights and security, all that good stuff.”
They won’t be the only ones going all out. Business owners all know the potential of St. Patrick’s Day, and with so many people downtown, many businesses are seeing green.
“There are so many people downtown. We get such a large crowd that comes in. We block off this whole street, so our capacity is so much more on that day. We know the potential and the ceiling for how good of a day we can have as a business, so it makes sense to go ahead and pull out all of the stops.”
Downtown Roanoke Inc. says that some streets will be closed due to the parade and suggests parking in PARK Roanoke lots and garages.