South Side Irish Parade

About this happenin

Western Avenue in Beverly and Morgan Park closes for the South Side Irish Parade, which runs from 103rd to 115th Streets every March. Two neighbors, George Hendry and Pat Coakley, started it in 1979 for their kids and the kids around them. Seventeen children marched that first year, with a baby buggy dressed up as the float, and they became the Wee Folks of Washtenaw and Talman. Western Avenue has been the route since 1981, the year the day took the shape it still has: pray, parade, party. The parade steps off at noon, whatever the weather. The committee runs a zero-tolerance rule on drinking along the route, after alcohol problems once suspended the parade for two years.

More in March: 4 other Chicago events.

Where

Western Avenue, 103rd to 115th Streets · Western Ave & 103rd St, Chicago, IL 60643