St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Festival in San Francisco, California
This year 12 March 2011 is the 160th St. Patrick's Day celebration in San Francisco, California, USA. Wow, its been that long. Next year the event will be celebrated on the 17th of March (2012).
Well, we are now back in the Netherlands; we flew back last weekend, Sunday, 12 March and our last day in San Francisco was spent enjoying the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival on the same day as well. It was probably the best weather day that week and we kind of felt sorry to be leaving town.
So anyway, after having parked the car a few blocks away in downtown San Francisco we proceeded to the San Francisco Civic Center Plaza where the St. Patrick’s Day event is held and where the parade passes through and comes to an end. Street parking by the way, for American standards in San Francisco, is quite expensive at $2.50 per hour but obviously cheaper still compared to New York and here in the Netherlands.
We managed to squeeze ourselves through the crowd and took a spot right on the trattoir by the City Hall where we had a good view of the passing parade. The festivity was filled with lots of fun and laughter, there were many people in green coloured or Irish-inspired costumes, and some were wacky enough to dress in out-of-this-world ensembles. Fun indeed! There were cultural entertainment and live performances present on the plaza as well, and of course, lots of food and drinks. See my fotos below and hope you enjoy them.
The event Spectators and SFO Police Officers:
Very creative way of stamping shamrock on a horse, right on the butt cheeks =)
These are random fotos I took, and I wish I had taken more fotos of people, especially the funky ones in totally ferocious costumes.
The biggest spectator of them all, moi. I wish I had something green on me or at least, with me!
The St. Patrick's Day Parade, Sunday, 12 March 2011. The parade began at 11:30 starting at 2nd and Market Streets and ending at the Civic Center Plaza corner Polk and Larkin Streets. Compared to European parades, I think American parades are toned down, and I must say a bit bland and highly commercialized. Oh wait, what are those political figures doing there promoting themselves? (huh, lol)
There's so much charm with men in uniform in a crowded old convertible car.
We were glad to find a spot where we had a nice view of the parade... and yep, we were able to spot a few Paddy's as well!
The chow stands and the St. Patrick's Day event grounds on San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza located at downtown San Francisco:
The reason why I am not so fond of American food is because its always deep fried. I know it is TMI (too much information), but I was constipated after this holiday, because of the grease I am sure. Anyway, it was timing that Dutchman wore his Guinness shirt to the St. Patrick's Day, which is a gift from moi during my trip to Ireland last year.
The Entertainment and Live Performances at the San Francisco Civi Center Plaza:
At the festival there was a stage with an Irish band playing typical Irish songs. The crowds started dancing, at first just a few people joined, and then it became a big open-air discotheque (did not have a foto of this though). I did enjoy watching a guy who went totally bonkers doing the Irish dance leap; he did massive high leaps and whew, those legs are darn powerful!
To see all of my fotos go here: St. Patrick's Day Parade & Festival 2011 - San Francisco, California, USA
More entries of San Francisco soon...
Travel Period: March 2011
Destination: San Francisco (California), USA
Well, we are now back in the Netherlands; we flew back last weekend, Sunday, 12 March and our last day in San Francisco was spent enjoying the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival on the same day as well. It was probably the best weather day that week and we kind of felt sorry to be leaving town.So anyway, after having parked the car a few blocks away in downtown San Francisco we proceeded to the San Francisco Civic Center Plaza where the St. Patrick’s Day event is held and where the parade passes through and comes to an end. Street parking by the way, for American standards in San Francisco, is quite expensive at $2.50 per hour but obviously cheaper still compared to New York and here in the Netherlands.
We managed to squeeze ourselves through the crowd and took a spot right on the trattoir by the City Hall where we had a good view of the passing parade. The festivity was filled with lots of fun and laughter, there were many people in green coloured or Irish-inspired costumes, and some were wacky enough to dress in out-of-this-world ensembles. Fun indeed! There were cultural entertainment and live performances present on the plaza as well, and of course, lots of food and drinks. See my fotos below and hope you enjoy them.
The event Spectators and SFO Police Officers:
Very creative way of stamping shamrock on a horse, right on the butt cheeks =)These are random fotos I took, and I wish I had taken more fotos of people, especially the funky ones in totally ferocious costumes.The biggest spectator of them all, moi. I wish I had something green on me or at least, with me! The St. Patrick's Day Parade, Sunday, 12 March 2011. The parade began at 11:30 starting at 2nd and Market Streets and ending at the Civic Center Plaza corner Polk and Larkin Streets. Compared to European parades, I think American parades are toned down, and I must say a bit bland and highly commercialized. Oh wait, what are those political figures doing there promoting themselves? (huh, lol)
There's so much charm with men in uniform in a crowded old convertible car.We were glad to find a spot where we had a nice view of the parade... and yep, we were able to spot a few Paddy's as well!The chow stands and the St. Patrick's Day event grounds on San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza located at downtown San Francisco:
The reason why I am not so fond of American food is because its always deep fried. I know it is TMI (too much information), but I was constipated after this holiday, because of the grease I am sure. Anyway, it was timing that Dutchman wore his Guinness shirt to the St. Patrick's Day, which is a gift from moi during my trip to Ireland last year.The Entertainment and Live Performances at the San Francisco Civi Center Plaza:
At the festival there was a stage with an Irish band playing typical Irish songs. The crowds started dancing, at first just a few people joined, and then it became a big open-air discotheque (did not have a foto of this though). I did enjoy watching a guy who went totally bonkers doing the Irish dance leap; he did massive high leaps and whew, those legs are darn powerful! To see all of my fotos go here: St. Patrick's Day Parade & Festival 2011 - San Francisco, California, USA
More entries of San Francisco soon...
Travel Period: March 2011
Destination: San Francisco (California), USA
