Even though Saturday, March 3 started off with rain, thousands of young people came to Hoboken to celebrate the day in which, traditionally, the annual St. Patrick’s Parade had been held every year – until this year. This year, the parade was cancelled by its organizers after Mayor Dawn Zimmer requested it be held on a Wednesday instead of a Saturday to cut down on the increasingly rowdy partying that accompanied it. The organizers, an Irish committee that is independent of City Hall, refused to hold the parade on a weekday. Without the parade as a focal point, some wondered if the bars would lose business.
Lines formed as early as 11 a.m. (Photos by John Papa.)
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A group of residents promoted a “Leprecon” bar crawl and encouraged visitors to come to town even without the parade. Many other people crowded bars that weren’t on the Leprecon list, forming lines as early as 11 a.m. One bar/restaurant uptown advertised that it would open at 9 a.m. and have live music starting at 10.
In conjunction with the events, many residents held house parties throughout town.
The city made it known that it would levy fines of up to $2,000 for quality of life violations such as public alcohol consumption. Several house parties were reportedly shut down.
Here are some photos of bar customers, vendors, visitors, and law enforcement from the day. Photos by John Papa.