The Parade will celebrate its 49th anniversary with a Forever Green theme. It's not necessarily supposed to connote an environmental agenda -- this isn't a preachy parade. The festivities have their roots in a true St. Patrick's Day tradition: drinking. Half a century ago, a couple people were enjoying a beer downtown and decided they should take to the streets to display their Irish spirit. Since then, it's become one of the best parades in the state, still completely volunteer-run and therefore considerably weirder and more exuberant than, ahem, other Denver holiday parades.
The parade starts at 10:00 a.m. at Blake and Broadway and traverses the ballpark neighborhood, passing by too many bars to count en route to its end in Coors Field Parking. The whole thing lasts three and a half to four hours, and the action should pass the judge's stand between 10:15 and 10:30, at the south corner of Coors Field. The complete route is below.
Fox News had the brilliant idea to hand off a microphone to a wasted reveler to provide commentary on the parade a few years ago. The results were a much better approximation of the experience than the standard b-roll of green-painted kids and marching bands you typically see. Enjoy.
View St. Patrick's Parade Route Denver 2011 in a larger map
