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St. Patrick’s Day in New Orleans
Savannah dyes its fountains green and Chicago turns the Chicago River green. People dance and march in St. Patrick’s Day Parades in cities around the world. New Orleans, as always, has its own distinct, unique style.
Irish immigrants to New Orleans settled in what became known as the Irish Channel. That neighborhood began the first St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 1947. This year’s parade will have 1,200 men in tuxedos and coattails marching in the parade. These marchers hand out paper flowers in exchange for a kiss on the cheek or on the hand.
You’ll see floats, marchers and revelers all dressed in green and the parade will be a sea of green. Marchers and riders in the parade will be tossing green beads and green dubloons to the crowd.
There will be over 30 floats with about 50 people on each float. Each float rider will be given 3 bags of cabbage, with about 25 -30 heads of cabbage in each one to pass out to the crowds. That comes to a lot of greens. You’ll also see onions, potatoes and carrots flying through the air. Everything you need for Irish Stew, except the beef.
Cabbage has always been a part of the Irish culture in New Orleans with corned beef and cabbage being a culinary tradition.
There is one hard and fast rule for float riders. The cabbage is to be tossed not thrown. That’s safer and a lot more fun.
The Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day Parade will be on March 14, 2026, at 1 pm. The parade will begin on the corner of Felicity and Magazine Streets.
After the parade, the celebration continues with some of the biggest street parties of the year in the Big Easy.
Block Party
One large block will be at Annunciation Square near Chippewa and Race Street. The party will feature Irish music and dancing, Irish food from local restaurants, arts & crafts booths and wine and beer. All the proceeds from this block party will go to St. Michael’s Special School.
There are other block parties, both large and small. The Irish Pubs in the Irish Channel will have special events throughout the day.
Hotels
If you’re coming to New Orleans for the St. Patrick’s Day parade and parties, you should consider these hotels that are offering discounted rates.
Irish Cuisine in New Orleans
While you’re in New Orleans for the St. Patrick’s Day festivities, you could enjoy Irish cuisine. These are the 9 Best Irish restaurants in the Big Easy as chosen by the users of TripAdvisor.
- St. Pat’s Irish Coffeehouse
- Finn McCools
- Ryan’s Irish Pub
- Molly’s Irish Pub
- Finnegan’s Easy
- The Holy Ground
- Mick’s Irish Pub
- Fahy’s Irish Pub
- Kerry Irish Pub
Getting to New Orleans
If you’ll be flying to New Orleans, you can find the cheapest flight prices here.