CLEVELAND, Ohio -- From bagpipe bands to marching bands, from unicyclers to Irish wolf hounds, Cleveland’s St. Patrick’s Day parade this year was filled with thousands of participants. The theme for 2019 was Irish Churches of the Diocese of Cleveland, and many organizations constructed parade floats that looked like cathedrals. The United Irish Societies of Greater Cleveland website announced winners for eleven award categories, which you can see on their 2019 parade winners page. The video above is a 2-minute recap of the parade’s participants. See more photos below.<doc-sep>CLEVELAND, Ohio – If you can’t make it to downtown Cleveland for the St. Patrick’s Day parade we have you covered. From the floats to the bagpipes and drums, all of the fun makes everyone a little Irish on March 17. Reporter Hannah Drown will be live on cleveland.com’s Facebook page in the thick of the action throughout the day. Expect to see views of the set-up before the parade begins, the fun along the parade route and the aftermath at the end. Do you have questions, thoughts or comments? Be sure to put them in the comments section once the video broadcasts begin. The videos will appear at the top of the cleveland.com Facebook page once each broadcast begins. They also will be added to this post. Watch the pre-parade set-up here:<doc-sep>CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Hundreds of thousands of revelers are expected in Cleveland for Sunday’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, and officials have planned for the event with a series of safety tips, road closures and parking restrictions. Officials are anticipating roughly 300,000 spectators at Sunday’s parade despite a mild forecast near 40 degrees, said Shannon Corocan, the executive director of the United Irish Society that organizes the annual event. This year’s parade features an additional 10,000 participants and more than 200 volunteers, Corcoran said Thursday during a news conference at the city of Cleveland’s Emergency Operations Center on West Superior Avenue. Authorities are preparing for the parade with the same types of safety measures, road closures and parking restrictions they implement each year, Cleveland police Deputy Chief Harold Pretel said during the news conference. “Our partners are working diligently, from today through St. Patrick’s Day, to make sure the event is going to be safe,” Pretel said. The parade kicks off an hour later than normal due to St. Patrick’s Day falling on a Sunday. Here’s everything you need to know if you’re planning on heading to Sunday’s parade. Start time and parade route: The parade kicks off at 2:04 p.m. at the intersection of Superior Avenue and East 18th Street. It continues west to Public Square before turning north on West Roadway and East on Rockwell Avenue. The parade ends at the intersection of Rockwell Avenue at Ontario Street. Road closures: Superior Avenue is closed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Public Square to East 25th Street. Every connecting street is also closed at least one block to the north and south of Superior Avenue. There is no parking on all closed streets from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. On East 9th Street, the no parking ban extends north to St. Clair Avenue and south to Prospect Avenue. There is also no parking during that timeframe on West 3rd Street between West St. Clair Avenue and West Superior Avenue. A complete map of road closures and parking bans is available below. Parking restrictions and road closures for the 2019 St. Patrick's Day Parade in Cleveland. Public transportation: The Greater Cleveland RTA is offering $5 round-trip tickets to ride the rapid to and from the parade. Please bring exact change to buy them, the agency said. The passes are only available at the following rapid stations: Brookpark, Puritas, West Park, Triskett, West 117th Street, Tower City, Shaker-Warrensville and Green Road. Parking is free at each of the RTA’s rapid station parking lots. The RTA will provide updates about available parking on its Twitter and Facebook accounts. St. Patrick’s Day is typically the busiest day of the year for the RTA, the city said in its statement. Rail service is being increased Sunday to accommodate additional riders. The Waterfront Line will be replaced with buses so additional trains can be added to the Blue and Green lines, RTA spokeswoman Linda Krecic said during Thursday’s news conference. Discounted rides through Lyft: The ride-sharing company Lyft is offering a limited number of discounted rides home to revelers on Sunday. The promotion will get riders $5 off their trip home. The Cleveland police department will provide a promo code sometime over the weekend through its social media accounts. Officers will also be handing out promo code cards during the parade. The Cleveland Police Foundation partnered with Lyft to provide the rides. Lyft donated $2,000, while Jameson Irish Whiskey donated $7,000 for the promotion. Lost children: If you lose your child, find the nearest uniformed officer and ask for help, police said. Parents should also remind their children to find someone in uniform if they get separated, police said. The city is also setting up a reunification site on the 7th floor of the Justice Center, located at 1300 Ontario St. Members of the Bureau of Community Policing will care for lost children until they are reunited with parents or guardians. Drunken driving: Cleveland police will not be conducting sobriety checkpoints, but officers will be on the lookout for drunken drivers, police said. Anyone planning to drink on Sunday is asked to use public transportation or a ride-sharing service. Safety measures: Police officers will be stationed throughout the parade route and viewing area. Authorities stationed at the emergency operations center will also be monitoring the parade via security cameras, police said. K-9 police dogs will be stationed at each of the entrances to the parade viewing areas. They will also be on hand to check suspicious packages, police said.<doc-sep>
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Cleveland! If you’re looking for a way to celebrate the holiday, we’ve got a couple of suggestions, including the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in downtown Cleveland, or the St. Patrick’s Day Party at the House of Blues. There are also a few other events worth checking out in Cleveland today too, including Kiss’ show at the Quicken Loans Arena and a showing of “School of Rock” at the Connor Palace. Here are five events to check out in Cleveland today: 15th annual St. Patrick’s Day Party at House of Blues Local Pogues tribute band Boys from the County Hell kicks off one of the city’s biggest St. Patrick’s Day parties. Other performers include Irish punk band Craic, Pop Fiction and Sparky B. Free admission. House of Blues Cleveland, 308 Euclid Ave. March 17, 9 a.m. More info about party St. Patrick’s Day Parade in downtown Cleveland You don’t have to be Irish to enjoy the city’s biggest parade. The theme of this year’s event is “Irish Churches of the Cleveland Diocese” and will feature more than 10,000 participants and 125 units. The parade route starts at Superior Ave. and East 18th and marches down Superior until it reaches Public Square. March 17, 2:04 p.m. More info about parade KISS at Quicken Loans Arena The glam metal gods play Cleveland one last time as the their “End of the Road” farewell tour stops at The Q. Original members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons will be joined guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer in full makeup, performing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group’s biggest hits including “Detroit Rock City,” “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “Black Diamond.” Quicken Loans Arena, 1 Center Court, Cleveland March 17, 7:30 p.m. Purchase KISS tickets at LiveNation.com starting at $64.50 More info about show Words on Fire: A staged reading of the Cuyahoga River Burning at Cleveland Humanities Festival Want to learn about one of the most infamous events in Cleveland’s history? 50 years after it happened, actors bring the story of the burning river to life in a staged reading of works by Cleveland writers about the fire, climate change and more. The event is part of the Cleveland Humanities Festival, an eight-week event with programming focusing on the relationship between society and nature. Cleveland State University Student Center Ballroom, 2121 Euclid Ave. (third floor) March 17, 7 p.m. More info about reading “School of Rock” at Connor Palace The 2003 comedy film “School of Rock” turns into a stage musical in Cleveland this month. The touring show will stop by the Connor Theater as a part of Playhouse Square’s Broadway series. “School of Rock” features all the same songs as the movie, along with some new originals written by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Tickets, $10-$110. 1615 Euclid Ave., Cleveland March 17, 1 p.m., 6:30 p.m. More info about “School of Rock”