Several Roads Closed For St. Patrick’s Day Parades In Buffalo

In Western New York, there are always several clear signs that spring is on the way. Once winter has started to move out of the region, we see the spring thaw happening around the region with the lakes, rivers, and creeks beginning to lose thier ice and open up for the year. You also see things like field crews getting Sahlen Field ready for spring baseball.

And you also have folks with Irish heritage getting ready to celebrate history and culture all over the nation as St. Patrick's Day approaches.

Buffalo, like many other cities in the northeast, has a deep connection with Irish heritage thanks to the large number of folks who immigrated from Europe to the United States prior to and during the Great Famine in the 19th century. According to the Library of Congress, more than 4 million Irish landed in America between 1820 and 1930 alone.

Who's St. Patrick and Why Do We Celebrate Him In America?

While the roots of having a solum feast to honor St. Patrick, along with religious ceremonies, go all the way back to the 9th century in Ireland, the modern-day celebration of St. Patrick really developed as people made a life in the new world. The large parades of people wearing green while celebrating in the streets are truly an American creation.

Buffalo has one of the biggest and best St. Paddy's Day celebrations in America, ranked 10th best by WalletHub. It does so with all sorts of events honoring the culture, along with two separate parades that take over parts of the city.

If you plan on taking part in any festivities this year, make sure you plan your travel route as several roads will be closed for revelers to celebrate.

Several Roads Closed For St. Patrick's Day Parades In Buffalo

Buffalo has two separate St. Patrick's Day Parades in the city, and both of those street celebrations come with road closures that you need to be in the know about.

The Old Neighborhood Parade happens this year on Saturday, March 14th, and will run from 9 am until 3 pm. The parade will have more than 100 different floats, bands, and dancers who will start at the Valley Community Center on Leddy Street and will travel several streets, including South Park Avenue, Smith Street, and Hamburg Street, before it wraps up on Louisiana Street.

The Downtown Parade is on Sunday, March 15th, and streets begin to close at 7 am. The parade, which starts at 2 pm, begins at Niagara Square and heads north on Delaware Avenue into the Allentown neighborhood.