With Community Support Bellingham’s St. Patrick's Day Parade Returns to Original Route Downtown
The 16th annual St. Patrick’s Day parade is set for Sunday, March 15th at noon, returning to its original route down Cornwall Ave. The parade will start at Ohio St. and commence at Chestnut St.
As a non-profit, community sponsorship has been essential to the success of the parade with
Boundary Bay Brewery being a substantial partner for the last 15 years, donating employees time to planning, coordinating, and financial resources.
With Boundary Bay closing their Railroad Ave location, the parade board needed to pull new resources to make the 2026 parade a reality.
Board president Janet Lightner, along with board members Maureen Stewart and Tammy Bennet, known as the “Department of Fun”, brought in Molly McGarry owner of Uisce Irish Bar and former Boundary Bay employees Alison Mestl and Shanna Sheridan-McInnis, to help make it all happen.
Sheridan-McInnis says the community really rallied around the parade making it possible again this year.
“Closing down streets is expensive and we’ve been blown away by the generosity of the City of Bellingham and Beach Cat Brewery, our title sponsors, along with many other local businesses donating to make it happen.”
The Bellingham St. Patrick’s Day parade honors local public safety personnel and serves as a way to welcome back the light of Spring with a sea of people dressed in green.
Sheridan-McInnis explains, “The thing that really sets this parade apart is the community participation and their creativity. Be it the first responders, the unicycle club, 4H kids with their chickens, the Irish Wolf hounds with their humans, or St. Patrick himself, it’s a magical celebration.”
It is important to the board that the parade remains free to participate in, so there is no cost to be part of the festivities. Anyone can participate, with the parade’s motto, “Show up, line up, it's easy!”
They only ask that groups with floats, automobiles, and animals register beforehand to help with staging. More details can be found on the parade’s website: https://www.stpatsbham.com
This year’s parade Grand Marshall is Bellingham Mayor Kim Lund.
The parade board says it was an easy choice as Mayor Lund is passionate about creating a safe, positive and inviting downtown for local families to enjoy. They presented Mayor Lund with the traditional Grand Marshal sash in February. It is embroidered with the names of every Grand Marshal to have worn the sash.
Lund will lead the parade starting south down Cornwall Ave at noon March 15th.
Spectators will find the route festively marked with green balloons. City parking is free on Sunday and the Habitat for Humanity store has ADA access parking at the start of the parade.
