COTTLEVILLE, Mo. — COVID-19 concerns already have forced organizers to cancel one of the biggest St. Patrick’s Day-related events in the St. Louis area.
The Shamrock Run and Parade in Cottleville has been canceled for 2021.
“Citing the growing number of new COVID-19 infections, the organizers are deeply concerned about furthering community spread of the dangerous disease,” organizers wrote in a news release Monday.
“Our charity’s goal is the promotion of a safer and healthier community,” said Garrett Ryan, the chairman of the organizing committee. “To host this event during a global pandemic would be incompatible with our mission.”
St. Patrick’s Day events, including the ones in Cottleville, were among the first large-scale events canceled this spring as coronavirus cases started to spread throughout the St. Louis area and nationwide.
Organizers of the downtown St. Louis St. Patrick’s Day Parade said they are planning for an in-person parade in 2021 but warned that could change.
"We understand in these uncertain times that last-minute changes may need to be made," a news release from the committee said last month.
The downtown parade is scheduled for noon on March 13, 2021.