St. Patrick's Day Parade Saturday 3/3

FROM THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA:

City of Alexandria and the Ballyshaners Host 31^st Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade March 3

For Immediate Release: February 29, 2012

On Saturday, March 3, the City of Alexandria and the Ballyshaners (Gaelic for “Old Towners”) will host the 31^st Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, in celebration of Irish-American heritage. The parade begins at King and Alfred Streets and follows a route down King Street, past the reviewing stand at North Royal Street, and ends on the block of Lee Street between King and Cameron Streets.  The parade will begin at 12:30 p.m., and is expected to conclude by 2:30 p.m.

The day’s festivities officially kick off with the Classic Car Show Competition. The show starts at 10 a.m. with automobiles on display on North Pitt Street at King Street. The Fun Dog Show begins at 10:30 a.m. in Market Square (corner of North Royal and King Streets) and will conclude at noon.

All events are sponsored by the Ballyshaners, a not-for-profit group that organizes and orchestrates the Alexandria St. Patrick’s Day Parade in partnership with the City of Alexandria. For more information, visit www.ballyshaners.org.

For this year's St. Patrick's Day Parade, the King Street Trolley will utilize the following detour route from 11:30 am, until King Street is reopened following the parade:

• Westbound trolleys starting at King and Union Streets (until King Street is reopened) will turn left onto Union Street, turn right onto Duke Street, turn right onto Daingerfield Road, and turn left onto Diagonal Road and proceed into the King Street Metro Station. 
• Eastbound trolleys starting at the King Street Metro (until King Street is reopened) will turn left onto Diagonal Road, turn right onto Daingerfield Road, turn left onto Duke Street, turn left onto Strand, and proceed to King and Union via Strand. 

Both westbound and eastbound trolleys will stop and pick up at the following locations:

• King Street Metro
• Duke & Peyton
• Duke & Payne
• Duke & Alfred
• Duke & South Washington
• Duke & Royal
• Duke & Union
• King & Union

The trolleys will depart from the King Street Metro and the Waterfront every 15 minutes. Passengers should expect some delays in service due to heavy vehicular and pedestrian traffic along the detour route and road closures on nearby streets. 

The City of Alexandria is committed to compliance with the City’s Human Rights Code and the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation or to request materials in an alternative format, please call the Special Events Office at 703.746.5418 (TTY 703.838.4902).