SavannahSixManFan
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2012 Savannah St. Patrick's Day could be largest in the world
Move over, New York City. Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day parade is marching through.
With record crowds expected this year, the parade could surpass New York City’s in its number of units and participants. That would make it the largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the world.
“For years and years, it’s always been said that New York’s was the largest,” says parade committee general chairman Michael A. Foran. “At first, I thought that meant per capita, but it’s actually units.
“According to the estimates I’m hearing, a million people will be in town over the weekend,” he says. “We’ve got several livestreams on the Internet with a viewership of 10 million.
“Our website is getting 10,000 hits a day,” Foran says. “It’s just blowing up. We can’t keep up with the emails.”
Stay up-to-date on everything related to St. Patrick's Day in Savannah on your mobile device: stpatricksday.savannahnow.com and your desktop at savannahnow.com/stpatricksday.
The phone in the parade committee office never stops ringing. “We get the craziest questions,” Foran says. “People call and want to know what weekend to come.”
The parade in New York, which always takes place the Saturday closest to St. Patrick’s Day, is strictly for entertainment.
Not in Savannah.
“This is a religious observance day for us,” Foran says. “We start with Mass at 8 a.m.,” he says. “If the holiday falls on Sunday, the bishop pushes it back to Saturday, which will happen next year.”
This year’s weekend date means more people can march in the parade.
“There’s going to be a record number of participants and bands,” Foran says. “We’ve got 60-plus bands and about 15,000 people marching in the parade.”
Move over, New York City. Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day parade is marching through.
With record crowds expected this year, the parade could surpass New York City’s in its number of units and participants. That would make it the largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the world.
“For years and years, it’s always been said that New York’s was the largest,” says parade committee general chairman Michael A. Foran. “At first, I thought that meant per capita, but it’s actually units.
“According to the estimates I’m hearing, a million people will be in town over the weekend,” he says. “We’ve got several livestreams on the Internet with a viewership of 10 million.
“Our website is getting 10,000 hits a day,” Foran says. “It’s just blowing up. We can’t keep up with the emails.”
Stay up-to-date on everything related to St. Patrick's Day in Savannah on your mobile device: stpatricksday.savannahnow.com and your desktop at savannahnow.com/stpatricksday.
The phone in the parade committee office never stops ringing. “We get the craziest questions,” Foran says. “People call and want to know what weekend to come.”
The parade in New York, which always takes place the Saturday closest to St. Patrick’s Day, is strictly for entertainment.
Not in Savannah.
“This is a religious observance day for us,” Foran says. “We start with Mass at 8 a.m.,” he says. “If the holiday falls on Sunday, the bishop pushes it back to Saturday, which will happen next year.”
This year’s weekend date means more people can march in the parade.
“There’s going to be a record number of participants and bands,” Foran says. “We’ve got 60-plus bands and about 15,000 people marching in the parade.”
