LoDo will sprout shamrocks for the mighty Denver St. Patrick's Day Parade on Saturday. Dubbed "The Golden Jubilee," this year marks the 50th marching of the parade. As always, the lineup is filled with floats from dozens of community groups and sponsors — like they say, everyone's a little Irish on St. Patrick's Day.

Expect marching bands, dancers, snazzy cars and scooters, and, of course, a cacophony of bagpipes and bodhrans (drums, that is). This year's grand marshal is Vinton Guy, a member of the Parade Committee since 1967 and a seasoned marcher as well.

Keep an eye out for the 2012 Queen Colleen, too — Tiffany Antikainen is a piper with the Michael

Dave Walls gets into the spirit of St. Patrick's Day as he and friends celebrate at Scruffy Murphy's Irish Pub in 2010 in LoDo. (Denver Post file)
Collins Pipe Band.

There's plenty of room along the parade route to stake a claim and get a good view: The ends of the parade route will be the most spacious and serene, at about Broadway and Blake Street and 17th and Wazee streets.

For a little more craic (fun), hang out on the parade's main Blake Street stretch. Bars along the route will be packed with revelers in goofy green attire and beads — the party spills out onto the sidewalks like a tipped-over pint of Guinness.

The parade will run from 10 a.m. to approximately 2 p.m., on Saturday. For more information visit denverstpatricksdayparade.com.

Kathleen St. John

 



Eric Roth wears a giant puppet. (Craig F. Walker, Denver Post file)