NEW YORK — Grab your green galoshes and join the St. Patrick’s Day parade festivities Thursday as color guards, Irish-American organizations, and bagpipes galore come together for the first large in-person parade since 2019.

The St. Patrick’s Day Parade was one of the city’s first major events canceled at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, though organizers held a small march on the day of the parade. Another small group, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, marched in 2021, but celebrations were once again mostly virtual.

Rain is expected for this year’s parade, but that won’t dampen the celebration for the hundreds of firefighters, police, veterans, current servicemen and women, and student band members will be on hand to ring in the holiday.

Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell will march with the contingent of police bands and organizations leading marchers Thursday morning. Gov. Kathy Hochul will march with the New York State Police Pipe Band. The parade is set to begin at 10:45 a.m.

The parade will mark its return with a color guard of essential workers and a moment of silence at noon to mark the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and the victims of the COVID-19 pandemic. Parade marchers will turn towards ground zero and Cardinal Timothy Dolan will lead a prayer on the steps of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Then, members of FDNY, NYPD, Port Authority Police, and "the Fighting 69th" Regiment of New York will play taps and "Amazing Grace" before the parade continues up Fifth Avenue.

The 69th Regiment of New York is an infantry unit that traces its history back to the 1840s, when Irish immigrants formed it as a militia. Fighting in every major war the United States took part in since then, the unit was one of the first to respond to the World Trade Center on 9/11, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade’s organizing nonprofit said.

Grand Marshal James T. Callahan, general president of the International Union of Operating Engineers – which represents engineers, heavy equipment operators, mechanics, and surveyors, as well as nurses and other health care industry workers – will lead the parade.

A 40-year union member, Callahan was at the World Trade Center site to aid the recovery effort alongside his fellow engineers in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the union said.

There are plenty of street closures scheduled for the parade. Here’s the full list from the NYPD to keep in mind as you plan your morning and midday commutes:

Formation:

Vanderbilt Avenue between 43rd Street and 46th Street

43rd Street between Vanderbilt Avenue and 6th Avenue

44th Street between Vanderbilt Avenue and 6th Avenue

45th Street between Vanderbilt Avenue and 6th Avenue

46th Street between Vanderbilt Avenue and 6th Avenue

47th Street between Park Avenue and 6th Avenue

48th Street between Park Avenue and 6th Avenue

 

Route:

5th Avenue between 79th Street and 42nd Street

 

Dispersal:

5th Avenue between 86th Street and 79th Street

79th Street between Park Avenue and 5th Avenue

80th Street between Lexington Avenue and 5th Avenue

81st Street between Lexington Avenue and 5th Avenue

82nd Street between Lexington Avenue and 5th Avenue

83rd Street between Lexington Avenue and 5th Avenue

84th Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue

 

Miscellaneous:

49th Street between Madison Avenue and Rockefeller Plaza

50th Street between Madison Avenue and Rockefeller Plaza

51st Street between Madison Avenue and 6th Avenue

53rd Street between Madison Avenue and 6th Avenue

58th Street between Madison Avenue and 6th Avenue

62nd Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue

63rd Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue

64th Street between Park Avenue and 5th Avenue

65th Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue

70th Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue

71st Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue

72nd Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue

78th Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue

Madison Avenue between 42nd Street and 86th Street