Philadelphia St. Patrick Day Parade 2022: Start time, route, road closures, and everything else you need to know

After two straight years of cancellations due to the pandemic, Philadelphia’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade returns on Sunday, for its 250th edition.

Organized by the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Observance Association, the parade’s theme this year is “250 years of faith, family, friendship and heritage.” It will feature Irish dancers, marching bands, and heritage and cultural groups during its run. But along with the return of the parade, we’ll also see the return of parade-related road closures, parking restrictions, and transit detours.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Philly. We’ve rounded up everything you need to know for this year’s parade.

» READ MORE: 11 essential St. Patrick's Day events in Philadelphia

This year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade kicks off at 11:15 a.m. at 16th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard. It will run eastbound on Market Street through the Independence Mall area to Penn’s Landing, where it is scheduled to wrap up around 3 p.m. The parade’s performance area and main grandstands will be at Fifth and Market Streets.

Parade participants, meanwhile, will enter the parade area at 30th Street and Schuylkill Avenue starting at 9 a.m., and assemble from 20th to 16th Streets along JFK Boulevard.

Currently, forecasters are calling for a partly sunny, breezy Sunday with a high of 39 degrees, according to AccuWeather. No rain is in the forecast at the moment, but even if that changes, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade is a rain-or-shine event.

All planned road closures will take place the day of the parade, and will start and end at various times, depending on where they’re located along the route. The earliest closures will start at 5:30 a.m., and all of them should clear up between 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Market Street between Sixth and Fifth Streets will be closed from 5:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Other streets will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., including:

Parking along the parade route will also be affected on Sunday, with temporary “no parking” zones in effect throughout the day. Cars parked in “no parking” zones during those times will be relocated (a.k.a. courtesy towed), the city said.

The 1400-2000 block of JFK Boulevard will be a temporary “no parking” zone from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Other areas where parking will be banned from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m.:

If your car is relocated from one of these areas during the parade, the city recommends calling the police district of the area where it was parked and asking about its location. But, as some Philadelphians have found out, it’s not always that easy — but we do have a few tips that might help.

SEPTA riders who use bus lines along the parade route will face detours through the Center City and Old City areas from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Specific route changes are available on the agency’s system status website, and you can also get real-time updates via TransitView on the SEPTA app and on Twitter at @SEPTA_Bus.

The bus routes impacted are:

Regional Rail, meanwhile, will run its usual Sunday schedule. The city has advised that attendees arriving by train avoid carrying bags, backpacks, or “satchels of any kind,” as they will be subject to search, which could create entry delays.

The usual COVID-19 precautions we’ve become used to, such as masking and providing proof of vaccination, are not required to attend the parade. The city, however, advises that if you feel sick, or have heightened risk factors when it comes to COVID-19, that you stay home and livestream the parade, or watch it on TV.

The CW Philly will broadcast the parade live from noon to 3 p.m. If you’re watching through a computer or mobile device, you can livestream it via CBS3′s website from noon to 3 p.m. CBS3 will also rebroadcast the parade in its entirety on St. Patrick’s Day itself, March 17, from 9 a.m. to noon.