The City of Dallas is expecting 125,000 people to crowd Greenville Avenue this weekend for the Dallas Mavs St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festival. The festival runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday; the parade starts at 11.
Businesses along Greenville say parking lots will start to fill up and people will start claiming space Friday night.
"If you want to come out early, you want to be here, the safest route is DART," says Greenville Avenue Area Business Association Chairman of the Board Kevin Vela. "They'll get you there, and they'll get you back."
"DART will be available for all of our riders during this time," says DART's Gordon Shattles. "We'll have extra trains and extra service on four of our light rail lines. We will have staff members at each one of those stations making sure we get passengers to and from where they need to go."
Shattles says this weekend will be one of the busiest of the year for DART. He says many people who will be riding this weekend may only use the system once a year, so those employees on train platforms can answer questions and help people plan their trip.
Shattles urges people to download DART's GoPass app. The app lets people pay for their ride, plan their route and see how long the wait will be for the next bus or train. Details can be found here.
Businesses along Greenville say they will be ready to welcome crowds. At Desperados Mexican Restaurant on Greenville north of University Boulevard, General Manager Jake Levy says this will be one of his busiest weekends of the year.
"It's the best day of the whole year. It's so much fun. It really is unlike any other day. We're right in the middle of it all, so it's a great experience," he says. "We've always participated since day one. Our restaurant's been there 46 years. The parade's been going 42, so as long as there's been a parade, Desperados has been there."
As the area has grown, Levy says Desperados has helped other restaurants and businesses on Greenville get settled and prepare for St. Patrick's Day. He says they also communicate with each other to handle parking and crowds.
"We work as a team, so if there's a crowd of people who's a little too ornery, we'll call our buddies whichever way they're walking and tell them, 'Hey, look out for these guys,'" he says. "We kind of look out for each other."
Levy says trying to isolate people who might be destructive can help each business and also help the majority of people there trying to enjoy the holiday peacefully. He says Dallas Police also help by providing a visible presence during the festival.
"We love them when they come in, and we take good care of them when they do," he says. "It just makes it a little calmer when there's some police on the premises. We're nothing fancy. We're just family."
Details about the parade and festival are available at https://www.dallasstpp.com/.
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