(WWJ) For the second year in a row, the annual St. Patrick's Day parade in Detroit's Corktown has been canceled due to the coronavirus.
The parade typically attracts 80,000-100,000 people, making it one of the largest St. Patrick’s parades in the country and it features floats, marching bands, color guard units and more.
However, with the coronavirus pandemic still prevalent across the U.S. and metro Detroit, parade leaders agreed that canceling was the best course of action to keep the community safe.
They’ve turned their focus to the 2022 event to be as safe as possible for potential participants, spectators, and sponsors. The organizers expect 2022’s event to return bigger and better than ever.
“As we continue to follow the COVID-19 safety protocols, it became very clear that it would be difficult to promote and host the 2021 Detroit St. Patrick’s Parade in a way that maintained safety for our sponsors, members, participants and viewers,” said UIS President Michael Kelly. “Therefore, with heartfelt disappointment, the UIS and Detroit St. Patrick’s Parade Committee have decided to cancel the 2021 Detroit St. Patrick’s Parade this year,"
The next Detroit St. Patrick’s Parade is planned for Sunday, March 13, 2022.
At that time, Kelly said: "We’ll transform Corktown, Detroit’s oldest neighborhood, and Michigan Avenue, home to industry, dreamers, entrepreneurs and more, into a celebration of Irish history, culture and opportunity.”