ST CROIX — Get ready for the biggest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the Caribbean! Revelry runs green at the 53rd annual St. Croix St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 16th, 2024. Every year, on the Saturday closest to St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th), revelers don their best green gear and flood the streets of downtown Christiansted with dancing and singing as they celebrate this popular Irish holiday brimming with Crucian culture. The Irish Caribbean heritage stems from the 18th century, when sugar production was prevalent throughout the region. Under Danish rule, Irish merchants and planters began to acquire land on St. Croix and were responsible for more than one-third of all sugar production on the island.
It was 1969 when a group of local businessmen got together at a popular watering hole in downtown Christiansted. Their conversation turned to holiday celebrations, where they questioned why St. Patrick’s Day wasn’t celebrated in the Virgin Islands. It was then and there that they decided that something had to be done to remedy this dilemma. This is how the first St. Patrick’s Day Parade on St. Croix was born.
With a stake-bed truck outfitted with a piano on top, this newly organized committee and its fellow supporters hopped on board the slow-moving structure singing Irish and local songs while saluting both shoppers and shopkeepers along their route. Those donning their green gear immediately got into the spirit; those who needed something green rushed into the nearby shops to find the appropriate attire to join in on the fun.
Present-day festivities include local majorette groups, high school bands, and carnival troupes parading through the streets of downtown Christiansted. Parade vendors selling local foods and drinks line the route with patés, johnny cakes, sugar cane juice, and fresh coconut water. After the parade, the party continues along Company Street and the Christiansted Boardwalk, with hordes of parade-goers enjoying live music and dancing, anchored by food and drinks.
The 2024 St. Croix St. Patrick’s Day Parade will take place on Saturday, March 16th, 2024, starting promptly at 11am. The parade kicks off at Sunday Market Square in downtown Christiansted and travels along King Street and Company Street. For all the latest information about the parade, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/stxstpats.org.
Written by Anquanette Gaspard
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