CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — March weather can be maddening, with record high temperatures one day and snow two days later, as evidenced this week, but the annual parade for the SaPaDaPaSo — St. Patrick’s Day Parade Society — will be held rain or shine.
The 51st annual parade starts at 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in downtown Cedar Rapids, with the standard parade route: Sixth Street SE, turning left on Second Avenue SE; left on First Street SE; left on Third Avenue SE and ending at Greene Square Park.
Parking is prohibited along the parade route and staging areas.
The first parade in 1976 lasted four minutes and was a block and a half long.
See photos from last year’s 50th anniversary parade
The annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade begins in 2025 in downtown Cedar Rapids. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
As COVID-19 concerns elevated in March 2020, organizers decided to cancel the parade, which had been held, rain or shine, since 1976.
In 2021, before COVID-19 vaccine was widely available, the parade was moved to Hawkeye Downs in southwest Cedar Rapids, where organizers held “the first and last, one of a kind race track parade.”
Spectators stayed in their vehicles and drove around to view parade entries that remained stationary inside the track.
See photos from the 2024 parade
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