The streets will be bathed in green on Saturday, March 1, when the 46th Annual Winter Park St. Patrick’s Day Parade takes over Park Avenue.
The route is set to begin at Canton Avenue and proceed south to Lyman Avenue. Local organizations and businesses will start marching at 9 a.m. with longtime Winter Park High School coach and city employee, Johnny Miller, serving as Grand Marshal. Among Miller’s many community efforts is the Coaches & Friends Toy Drive Challenge that was founded by Winter Park head coach Larry Gergley in 1993. Miller works with community centers, churches, and other organizations that distribute the donations where they are most needed.
The parade was originally coordinated by the Irish Cultural Society of Central Florida. According to Winter Park Rotary Club member, Johnny Hurlburt, the Rotary took over operations in 2024 in partnership with the Community Redevelopment Agency. That year, the parade boasted a total of 49 floats with participation from Winter Park and Orange County fire departments, local businesses, Irish dance troupes, children’s clubs, and pipe & drum corps. Click here to see photos from the 2024 parade.
Winter Park Rotary Club is also the engine behind the Holiday Boat Parade which last year was buoyed by support from the Winter Park Boat Tour. This year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is receiving support from event sponsor, The Imperial on Park.
This year will also mark the second Saturday morning schedule in event history. The switch from the previous Sunday afternoon start time began last year as a means of improving traffic management. “The night before the parade, the city will erect barricades to block Park Avenue and New York Avenue from Canton to Webster along with Cole Avenue and Swoope Avenue,” said Hurlburt. “This is to make sure no vehicles are parked on the streets the next morning during the staging period.”
Hurlburt also said six more parade volunteers are needed. Responsibilities can include assisting with staging floats, making announcements, and carrying banners along the route. The positions are filled by high school students who earn five hours of community service toward their graduation requirement. Those interested in volunteering are asked to contact Hurlburt at 407-579-3168.
The Rotary Club of Winter Park is part of Rotary International; a service organization with more than 1.4 million members in 34,000 clubs that are represented in 200 countries. For more information, go to winterparkrotary.com.
For more information on the 46th Annual Winter Park St. Patrick’s Day Parade, call 407-579-3168, 321-303-5218, or email butchinc@gmail.
