Fairfield University invites students, alumni, parents, faculty, staff and friends on Saturday, March 16, 2013, to march in the historic St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York City, New York. Fairfield University is a premium sponsor this year, and the Fairfield contingent will be televised marching up Fifth Avenue on New York's WNBC Channel 4 to over half a million households. Fairfield University President Jeffrey P. von Arx, S.J., will also be interviewed live on WNBC.

"The St. Patrick's Day Parade offers a wonderful opportunity for the Fairfield community to proudly share in an event that has become a part of the cultural fabric of New York City," said Maureen Errity Bujno '90, President of the Fairfield University Alumni Association. "We welcome all to join us on this festive occasion."

All those interested in marching must check in at Café Centro, located at 45th Street and Vanderbilt Avenue (near Grand Central Station), in Manhattan, prior to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 16, where official Fairfield parade sashes will be distributed. Participants and their families - including children of all ages - are also invited to a pre-parade breakfast at Café Centro from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Please register to march and/or attend breakfast by visiting www.fairfield.edu/stpatsparadenyc .

To abide by parade security regulations, those not checked-in at Café Centro by 11:30 a.m. will not be permitted to march with the group. The Fairfield group will travel together to the step-off location and be lined up to march by 12 noon. For a full list of parade rules and regulations, visit http://www.fairfield.edu/alumni/ar_stpatsparade.html

The New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade is one of the city's greatest traditions, marching for the first time on March 17, 1762. Today it is considered the largest parade in the world. Throughout its history, the Parade has been held in honor of the Patron Saint of Ireland and the Archdiocese of New York. The Parade is reviewed each year from the steps of Saint Patrick's Cathedral by the current Archbishop of New York in the same manner as in the early days of the Parade at the Old St. Patrick's Cathedral in Lower Manhattan. To this day, the St. Patrick's Day Parade remains true to its roots as a traditional marchers' parade by not allowing floats, automobiles and other commercial aspects to participate. The Parade starts at 44th Street and is held every March 17th, except, as in 2013, when March 17th falls on a Sunday. It is then celebrated the day before, March 16th, because of religious observances. The parade marches up Fifth Avenue past St. Patrick's Cathedral at 50th Street, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the American Irish Historical Society at 83rd Street to 86th Street, where the parade finishes, approximately 4:30 p.m. - 5:00 pm.

Every year, the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee hosts 150,000 - 250,000 marchers in front of approximately two million spectators lining Fifth Avenue. The Parade is also televised for four hours on New York's WNBC Channel 4.

Posted On: 03-08-2013 11:03 AM

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