COVID-19 forces St. Pat's Day Parade in Tucson to cancel for second time

We were days into the COVID-19 pandemic last March when organizers of the annual Tucson St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Festival called the event off.

On Monday, they canceled the 2021 parade, which is historically held the weekend before St. Patrick’s Day.

“The past year has been a difficult one, and while we begin to think about the reopening of our community post-COVID, we are patient and take every precaution to ensure the safety of ourselves and others,” parade organizers said in a written release.

“For those reasons, the Tucson St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Festival Committee must cancel the 2021 event.”

St. Patrick’s Day is March 17.

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The festival and parade join a growing list of Tucson events this year that have been canceled or will be held virtually including the Tucson Jazz Festival, the Tucson Rodeo Parade, Dillinger Days at Hotel Congress, the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show and the Tucson Festival of Books, which will be virtual on March 6-7.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade organizers are encouraging fans of everything Irish to support local Irish restaurants and musicians.

“The Tucson community is resilient and strong, and the committee cannot wait to throw you a great event for St. Patrick’s Day 2022,” organizers of the non-profit organization said in the release.

Visit tucsonstpatricksday.com for details.