ST. LOUIS — Thousands of spectators dressed in green made their way to downtown St. Louis on Saturday for the annual McBride Homes St. Patrick's Day Parade, despite frigid temperatures.
"We love St. Patrick's Day. Like it's always a good time, especially in St. Louis," said Morgan Casey, who came downtown with her friend, Donna Thomas. The pair run a Facebook page, Date Ideas and Things To Do In STL, and said the parade is always on their list of things to do.
A 5K St. Patrick's Day Parade Run kicked the morning off and reeled in close to 4,000 runners.
The run was followed by dozens of floats, the sounds of bagpipes and giant balloons, which made their way through downtown.
The parade was canceled in 2020 and was held virtually in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Parade committee members said they used the "off years" to prepare.
"There's a lot of energy—pent-up energy to come out. This is the unofficial rite of spring parade. After this, it warms up. Follows our lead. It's great for the city," said committee member Tommy "The Leprechaun" Burham.
The 2022 parade marked Shannon McDonough's 20th year participating. Her late grandfather, Joseph, helped start the event 53 years ago.
"I've been walking in the parade with the committee since I was little, and it's just a very special day to me. It takes a lot of work for the committee to put this all together, and I just appreciate it and I feel like everyone else should, too." she said.
The parade involved about 5,000 marchers and more than 250,000 attendees.