San Francisco’s 160th Saint Patrick’s Day Parade & Festival is March 12th - This Year’s Theme is Giving Back – Honoring Irish Contributions to the Community

The 160th Annual San Francisco St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Festival is the largest Irish event west of the Mississippi. The colorful annual event will take place on Saturday, March 12th from 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM with the Parade beginning at 11:30 AM. Over one hundred colorful floats, Irish dance troupes and marching bands, including thousands of participants, young and old alike, will electrify Market Street and Civic Center Plaza. The organizers of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Festival are predicting the best one ever.

Over 4 million Californians are of Irish heritage with one million Irish descendants located here in the Bay Area. Keeping with this year’s theme: ‘Giving Back’, the United Irish Societies is honored to announce Mike Moriarty as the Grand Marshal for the parade. “We are pleased to acknowledge and recognize all the contributions Mike has given to the Irish Community here in the Bay Area over the years,” said Dermot Philpott, President of the United Irish Societies of San Francisco.

The St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Festival celebrates and showcases the Irish community, culture and character in all its forms. In recent years the St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Festival has grown to attract an estimated 100,000 people. Featured groups from throughout the Bay Area’s Irish community include schools, youth organizations, labor unions, cultural groups, as well as the San Francisco Police and Fire Departments. In addition, many local political leaders will proudly join in the parade and will march up Market Street.

Participants don’t have to be Irish to join in the fun. This unique celebration is reflected in the diversity of the audience and in the vast number of the Parade floats and marching bands. To expand upon the Irish festivities from March 4-20th there will be additional events and activities sponsored by The Crossroads Irish-American Festival all throughout the Bay Area.

Again this year, the Festival will be held at Civic Center Plaza, in front of City Hall before, during and after the Parade. The Festival provides attendees an opportunity to learn more about Irish history and culture. This year’s Festival features, Irish cultural and retail booths, a healthy selection of Irish food and beverages, Irish dancing, live music from contemporary to traditional and a multitude of activities for children such as pony rides, inflatable and mechanical rides and much more. Exhibitors and Sponsors include: Comcast, Snapple, Captains Fish & Chips, San Francisco Native Clothing, Irish Castle Shop, California Irish-American Alliance, The Irish Herald, The United Irish Societies of San Francisco, Crossroads Irish-American Festival, and more.

The St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Festival is produced by Steven Restivo Event Services, LLC. and presented by the United Irish Societies of San Francisco. To participate in the parade and/or festival please contact SRES at 800-310-6563 or visit www.SRESproductions.com.


About the United Irish Societies of San Francisco (UISF)

The United Irish Societies of San Francisco, Inc., consists of various member Irish Societies, which are represented in this organization by delegates.
The purpose of the United Irish Societies of San Francisco is to preserve and perpetuate the democratic principles of the Irish people, and of those for the freedom of Ireland and of the United States of America; to enlist the goodwill and cooperation of our fellow citizens in support of such democratic principles; and to coordinate the functions of member societies through the maintenance of a master calendar of events. This Organization is exclusively for charitable, religious, educational and athletic purposes, including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under Section 501 c (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. Visit http://www.uissf.org

About The Crossroads Irish-American Festival
The Crossroads Irish-American Festival is an annual literary and cultural festival in San Francisco that celebrates and explores the meaningful heritage of Irish-Americans. This year, the Crossroads Festival will run from March 4-20, 2011 and will take place in venues throughout the Bay Area. Visit: http://www.irishamericancrossroads.org

About Steven Restivo Event Services, LLC

Steven Restivo Event Services, LLC (SRES®) has over Thirty years of experience producing many of the Bay Areas largest and most successful events. SRES, LLC produces the following festivals: San Francisco St. Patrick’s’ Day Parade and Festival, The Union Street Festival, Union Street Easter Parade & Spring Celebration, Petaluma’s Butter & Eggs Days Parade & Celebration, The Fillmore Jazz Festival, The North Beach Festival, San Rafael’s Food & Wine Festival, San Francisco’s Polk Street Blues Festival, Fiesta On the Hill (Bernal Heights), San Rafael’s Parade of Lights & Winter Wonderland, The San Mateo County Fair and the Jazz Festival at the Park for The San Francisco Giants. For more information visit: http://www.sresproductions.com

Contact Information

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