Breaking from tradition, Wilmington's St. Patrick's Day parade comes early this year

For Delawareans trying to figure out when Wilmington's St. Patrick's Day Parade would be held each year, there was a saying that helped them keep the traditional date top of mind: "The parade is on the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day, unless the holiday falls on a Saturday. Then it's the weekend before."

Well, even some time-honored traditions need an update from time to time. And now is the time for that one.

Even though St Patrick's Day falls on a Sunday this year, the annual parade down King Street will not be held the day before. Bucking tradition, it will be held Saturday, March 9, kicking off at noon.

David Ireland, who was elected president of the Irish Culture Club of Delaware last year, explains that the date was changed to two reasons: to keep Wilmington's parade the day before Philadelphia's parade and also to make the celebration of St. Patrick a two-week affair in Delaware's biggest city.

"We're more plugged into having two weekends of Irish heritage and culture," says Ireland, who was vice president of the organization for six years before being elected president in April.

Hooley gets new location off parade route

The date change isn't the only major new change coming to the parade this year.

The hooley ― a 21-and-older tented party with beer ― is moving from a parking lot on King Street across from St. Patrick's Church to the parking lot behind the church at North French and East 15th streets.

Since partygoers will not be able to view the parade from behind the church, which will be stocked with kegs of beer, Ireland hopes it will push people out to King Street during the parade, turning the hooley back into what it was more intended for: a post-parade party.

BLOODY MARY MORNING Bloody Marys an hour earlier: New law allows restaurants to start serving alcohol at 8 a.m.

However, both the hooley and the parade will have the same traditional start time of noon.

The parade usually ends around 2 p.m. with the hooley running until 4 p.m. ― or whenever the beer runs out, which is usually around 3 p.m. It costs $20 for a commemorative parade mug, which allows revelers unlimited refills under the 40-by-80 tent.

The hooley had been held in the church basement until 2013 when it was moved across the street after a new church leader witnessed the party and decided against hosting it anymore. Ireland says this year's move brings it back to its traditional home on church property, even if it's not back in the basement where shoulder-to-shoulder crowds let loose.

And instead of just a DJ keeping the crowd entertained like in recent years, duo Ben & Eddy will bring live Irish music to the bash.

"It's not going to be old, traditional Irish music, but more songs by Irish bands such as The Pogues, The Cranberries and U2. A fun array of music," Ireland says.

FLASHBACK Wilmington's St. Patrick's Day hooley hopes to bounce back

The focus of the hooley is one of celebration, not inebriation, Ireland says.

"That's not what I'm about. I'm about the praising and glorifying of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland," he says. "So as much as I like celebrating, I want the parade to be something that everyone can come to from your 90-year-old grandmother to your 22 -year-old brother."

This year's grand marshals of the parade are Joe and Gerry McCoy, longtime owners of Catherine Rooney's pub in the city's Trolley Square area.

Details for 47th annual St. Patrick's Day Parade

In addition to adults, children lining the parade route for the bagpipers, marching bands, floats and local mascots have always been a staple of the city's greenest day each year.

This year's celebration will technically kick off Friday, March 8, at 10 a.m. with a beefed-up ceremonial stripe-painting ceremony hosted by the Irish Culture Club of Delaware with Mayor Mike Puryzcki and others painting the street's dashed white lines green for the next day's parade.

DEWEY DOES DENVER Popular Delaware brewery opens a taphouse in Denver

Members of the Irish veterans organization Organisation of National Ex-Servicemen and Women are expected to be in attendance this year.

"We're going to have a podium and chairs and make it into something a little bigger," Ireland says. "It's not going to be just a bunch of old guys bending over and painting a green line."

The next day, the parade steps off at Fourth and King Streets beginning at noon, continuing north on King Street past the parade grandstand at Rodney Square before coming to an end at St. Patrick's Church on East 15th Street.

Go to irishcultureclubde.com for details.

Have a story idea? Contact Ryan Cormier of Delaware Online/The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier) and X (@ryancormier).

LOOK AHEAD Dates for Groundhog Day, daylight saving time and the first day of spring 2024

LOOK UP A total solar eclipse will be visible in the U.S. this spring for the first time in 7 years

POPPIN' THE QUESTION Love is in the air: Best spots to get engaged, have a Valentine's Day date in Delaware

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: New president for parade organization means a few tweaks to tradition