It's almost time to get your green on and come downtown for one of the biggest celebrations of the year in Buffalo. On Saint Patrick’s Day weekend (March 16-17), the entire city will be feeling the luck of the Irish this year. To celebrate the rich Irish heritage of Buffalo, thousands will come out and celebrate with two parades, one on Delaware Avenue and another in the Old First Ward.

The “Old Neighborhood” St. Patrick’s Day Parade will take place March 16, 2013, at 12 p.m. Since 1994, this parade has retraced the original 1913 route through the historic streets of the Valley and Old First Ward neighborhoods. It starts on South Park Avenue and then makes its way to Smith Street, towards Elk Street, and then to Hamburg Street, before ending end on O'Connell Street.

Buffalo’s largest Irish parade will be on Sunday, March 17, 2013, at 2 p.m. on Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, beginning in Niagara Square and working its way to Delaware Avenue and North Street. The parade features Irish dancers, bands, civic organizations and many of Buffalo’s finest Irish citizens. The 2013 St. Patrick’s Day Parade is dedicated to the Memory of Lt. Thomas Masterson, Sr. who was a city of Buffalo police officer for 46 years. The United Irish American Association of Erie County (UIAA) has elected Mark R. O’Neill to be Grand Marshal of the 2013 Saint Patrick’s Day Parade.

Contributed by Dane Johnson

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