While most St. Patrick’s Day celebrations took place last weekend – considering the actual holiday was on Sunday – Mississippi’s largest Irish get-together is actually this upcoming weekend.
70,000 plus people will gather in downtown Jackson for the 41st annual Hal’s St. Paddy’s Parade & Festival. The official theme for this year’s parade is “Telling the Mississippi Story” with longtime WJTV broadcaster Walt Grayson as the Grand Marshal. As always, a portion of the proceeds will go to Children’s of Mississippi.
“Hal’s St. Paddy’s Parade & Festival is a beloved tradition, now in its 41st year, and symbolizes the unity of our community and celebrating Jackson’s history,” parade founder Malcolm White said. “We are excited to once again share this event with everyone and support our friends at Children’s of Mississippi.”
During a recent episode of Good Things with Rebecca Turner, White discussed the economic impact of the parade, which has morphed into one of the largest St. Paddy’s events in America.
“It creates an awful lot of economic impact. It’s about $10 million to the local economy, which is nothing to sneeze at,” White said. “And it creates a lot of tourist activity. A lot of people come and fill up the hotels and restaurants and they spend money and they come from all over – people from multiple countries and multiple states. It’s become sort of a local phenomenon.”
Festivities for the 2024 Hal’s St. Paddy’s Parade kicked off last weekend with the Run the Rainbow for Children’s half and full marathons, 10k, and 5k. Green and glee will return to the streets of Jackson on Friday, March 22 as a second line stomp will go from Cathead Distillery to Hal and Mal’s for a crawfish boil. That begins at 4 p.m.
On Saturday, March 23, the float lineup begins at 7 a.m. at the corner of State Street and Court Street. The Children’s Festival begins at 9 a.m. in front of Thalia Mara Hall on West Street. At 1 p.m., the big floats will begin rolling with the afterparty taking place at Hal & Mal’s.
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