WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — The lines are painted green along South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre for marchers to follow in the 42nd annual St. Patrick's Parade.
Former Mayor, Tom Leighton is excited to lead participants down the streets as the grand marshal of a parade he's been participating in since he was a kid.
"Many of the parades have been postponed for the past 2 years and I think everyone is looking forward to it. I know the snow will melt by the time to parades start on Sunday. So I'm just hoping we get a great crowd out there to start the Spring season," said Leighton.
Last year the parade was postponed for several months due to COVID.
This year, Mayor George Brown is working with the Wilkes-Barre DPW to make sure the anticipated snow storm won't endanger parade-goers or performers.
"We'll do our best to make sure to clear the roads. Not just for the parade, but for the city of Wilkes-Barre," said Mayor Brown.
Mayor Brown says having the parade take place as scheduled gives the city a much-needed economic boost.
"All the restaurants, the places where people go for some drinks, they're going to be busy, they're going to be crowded. It's going to create some revenue for those people and help them make up for the losses they've had over the past two years," said Mayor Brown.
Businesses including Tolteca bar and grill on public square plan specials and extra staffing for the st. patrick's parade crowd.
"They can have more customers and more business can come to the square. A lot of businesses are closed down, so I hope more business can come to the square so we can have Public Square like it used to be," said Andreas Gomez, General Manager of Tolteca.
More than 60 groups plan to march in the parade throughout the city and end on Public Square.
Again, Wilkes-Barre's St. Patrick's Parade is still on for 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon.
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