ST. LOUIS — It's been two years since Dogtown was filled with St. Patrick's Day revelers, but this spring on March 17, organizers hope the streets will go green once again.
"We're back. The parade's back. The Dogtown festival is back," Jim Mohan, the parade's publicity chairman, said.
Mohan said they've been working with City Hall and their local board of aldermen representative to make sure things are good to go, and the numbers are looking better and better.
"The way things are looking, mid-March should be no issue," he said, adding "it looks like all the indicators are going that way."
St. Louis Metropolitan Task Force leaders echoed that optimism in their Tuesday briefing, with Dr. Alex Garza starting by saying "we are finally starting to see some good progress in the fight against omicron."
"We've turned the corner," Dr. Clay Dunagan said. "It isn't over, but we think the worst may be behind us despite the fact that we have record numbers of people in the hospital."
Dunagan says because of omicron's milder symptoms — when compared to the delta variant -- it's expected "what we are actually seeing in this curve is probably an underestimate of the true number of cases," but he added, "that said, the overall pattern is one of a downturn, and that’s really exciting."
In Dogtown, beads still hang in the trees from past parades. Mohan said they'll be throwing the plastic necklaces again this year but for the last time.
Consulting with the city and neighbors, Mohan said they can lead to safety issues if kids jump into the parade route for fallen beads. Plus, they often become litter if caught high overhead on light posts or trees or if they fall into sewer openings.
Run by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Mohan says they're also bringing back the Hoses, Handcuffs, and Hard Hats reception and awards ceremony to honor area first responders March 10 at Electricians Hall.
Organizers recently announced the downtown St. Louis parade will also return on Saturday, March 12.
