A vibrant green color engulfed Midtown Atlanta on Saturday, as thousands of people marched in the annual Atlanta St. Patrick’s Day parade.
The green was everywhere - on leprechaun outfits, marching band equipment, and parade floats, on overalls. And there were images of shamrocks, a lot of them: shamrocks on skirts, shamrocks for earrings, shamrocks on firetrucks, shamrocks on dogs, and shamrocks on llamas.
“We have big hearts for Atlanta, we love Atlanta,” said Tracy Munroe, who has marched in the parade for 20 years. “It’s just makes me happy to be a part of something so special.”
This is the 140th year of this parade in Atlanta, started in 1858 by the Hibernian Benevolent Society to honor traditions of the city’s Irish culture and history. Media legend Monica Pearson was the 2024 ceremonial grand marshal, following in the footsteps of other city greats, including Rep. John Lewis and former Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed.
There were the standard parade fixtures - the floats, bands and dancers. But there were also unusual ones, like Munroe, who runs Wit’s End Llama Consortium. Her llamas wore miniature leprechaun hats, and shamrock ties.
“There’s so many different groups that come in, that are so ingenious and creative,” said Munroe, whose group is from Dallas, Georgia.
Barb Agar was finishing a beer at a nearby bar, before playing cymbals in the parade. She’s part Irish, and has been performing for at least five years.
“My grandfather came over from Ireland. I haven’t been,” said Agar, wearing thick fake eyelashes covered in green glitter. “But that’s where we need to go next,” she said, turning to her sister.
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