Organizer cancels St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Don’t cry into your Guinness too much.

The annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in downtown Sioux Falls has been canceled for the second year in a row because of concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.

The show will go on in 2022, and planning for that is already underway, said Shawn Cleary, chair of the St. Patrick’s Day Extravaganza Committee.

“It is with great angst that we announce cancellation of the St. Patrick’s Day parade for 2021,” Cleary said. “While it is a challenge to bridle the Irish spirit, we have the utmost respect for the advice of city officials and health care professionals to continue to be prudent in the midst of the COVID pandemic. We encourage all Sioux Falls residents to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in a safe and healthy way.”

The parade was informally organized in 1980 by the late Sylvia Henkin. She stepped down in 2013 after serving as parade grand marshal for the second time. Her successor is Cleary, president of the Sioux Falls Irish Club.

While there will be no parade this year, there will be at least a couple of indications of the spirit on St. Patrick’s Day. Both the falls of the Big Sioux River and the downtown Arc of Dreams sculpture over the river will be lighted green.