It was just a little over a year ago when Cincinnati’s 54th-annual St. Patrick’s Day parade was canceled due to the growing coronavirus pandemic. It was one of the first few major event cancellations locally, and a glimpse into changes the next year would entail.
And as COVID-19 continues to be a national health threat, organizers behind the event have again made the decision to cancel the parade for 2021.
“Due to the ongoing state restrictions in the battle of COVID-19, the annual Cincinnati St. Patrick’s Parade scheduled for Saturday, March 13 has been canceled,” a statement published by WXVU from parade committee Chairman Chris Schulte reads. “While this decision is difficult to make for the second year in a row, we appreciate and respect the times we all are living in now.”
Last March, the parade cancellation announcement came after local and state officials implored organizers of mass gatherings to consider canceling those events in the face of the pandemic.
“The Cincinnati St. Patrick’s Parade has a long-standing tradition of not canceling or postponing our event but we understand that all good things must come to an end,” Schulte said in a statement.
In his 2020 announcement, Schulte acknowledged the businesses that support the annual parade and noted that he’s looking forward working alongside them on next year’s event.
“May Saint Patrick look over Greater Cincinnati, the United States, and the whole world!” he said in the statement.
And after vaccines have begun to roll out across Ohio, and cases have begun to drop, here’s to making up for lost time at next year’s parade, which is slated for March 12, 2022.
In lieu of this year’s festivities, Schulte asks the community to celebrate the holiday safely, and to “support local restaurants and businesses who are struggling through these times.”
This article appears in Feb 1-28, 2021.