NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – St. Patrick’s Day celebrations will be largely virtual in New York City on Wednesday for the second year in a row.
The day celebrating Irish heritage, normally marked by a large parade down Fifth Avenue and packed pubs and bars, will instead include livestreams and scaled-back festivities.
The day began with a small group of people marching down Lexington Avenue around 6 a.m. Among those in attendance was Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The small march was followed by a live broadcast of the St. Patrick’s Day Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral at 8:30 a.m.
A virtual parade featuring clips from past parades was unveiled at 10 a.m. An hour-long show featuring musical performances was scheduled for 11 a.m. on Facebook.
Timothy Cardinal Dolan and parade leaders will be interviewed in a Catholic Faith Network broadcast at 5 p.m., while “St. Patrick’s Day: A Celebration For All” will air on WNBC at 7 p.m.
See the full schedule of events here.
It’s the second year in a row that St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the city have been subdued because of the pandemic.
Bars and pubs in the city are still operating at 35% indoor capacity on Wednesday, although capacity will increase to 50% this Friday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.