Las Olas Blvd downtown is closed for the St Patrick's day parade. Charlie Crist was the Grand Marshall. But if you arrived 5 minutes late you missed him; apparently Charlie had somewhere else to be. Charlie led the parade and seemed to make a quick exit.
The downtown festival in Huizenga plaza started this morning at 11:30 with thousands of people gathering to listen to Irish music, buy Irish paraphernalia, and to drink Guiness and eat Irish Bangers with onions. Families, including dogs, enjoyed the sunny day and warm temperatures. The storms left town just in time.
I was surprised to see bleachers setup up in front of where Jackson's steakhouse was. As it turned out, sitting in the bleachers was no advantage unless you were way up high; the parade was on the north side of the street and the bleachers were set up on the South side. So there were layers of people in front of the bleachers.
After the parade, there were live bands in Huizenga Plaza and at the Gazebo in the Riverfront, but most people seemed to end up at Briny Irish Pub where they had live music all night long.
Below is a photo image gallery of the day's events.
