After pandemic shake-ups, St. Patrick’s SaPaDaPaSo parade returns to downtown Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — After two years of pandemic shake-ups, the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade is finally returning to its traditional downtown Cedar Rapids route. But not on its traditional date.

This year’s event steps off at 1 p.m. Saturday, snaking its way from Sixth Street SE, down Second Avenue SE, across First Street SE and back up Third Avenue SE to Greene Square.

► See a larger map of the parade route

The luck of the Irish ran out in 2020 when the local St. Patrick’s Day Parade Society — commonly referred to as SaPaDaPaSo — canceled its Cedar Rapids parade as COVID-19 spread into Iowa.

MORE TO DO: Parade kicks off week of St. Patrick’s Day events

“It was the right decision at the time,” but it wasn’t popular, said Tammy Maneely of Cedar Rapids, the all-volunteer group’s president.

“I really got a lot of heat for doing that because we were one of the very first events (to cancel). Now, I think everybody understands. They didn't understand at the time. Let me tell you, I felt the ‘love’ from the Facebook page.”

So last year, the group staged a “stationary” parade at Hawkeye Downs Speedway.

“The response was overwhelming,” Maneely said. “We didn't expect it to go over that well. I think by then people just wanted to get out.”

The event drew so many vehicles that the Cedar Rapids Police Department pointed out they were backing up traffic. Maneely said her own mother got tired of waiting and left. “She bailed on us,” Maneely said with a laugh.

“We did everything we could to have a St. Patrick's Day event without putting anybody really at risk. It was different — and we're glad to be back downtown.”

Moving the parade to the weekend solves several problems, Maneely noted.

“If you were to sum it up, it really comes down to sustainability and supportability. We need to make it easy to join the parade, participate in the parade, and we have to make it easy to get volunteers to help support the event,” she said.

"It’s always been a feather in our hat that the parade is on the 17th. But you have to change with the time. Society is not the same society it was in 1976 (when the parade started). People are bombarded with things to do, and so we have to make it as easy as possible to either volunteer or be an active participant in the parade.”

Spectators lining the streets or watching on KCRG-TV 9.2 will see 71 entries in the hourlong parade, with a mix of floats, walking groups, family clans, politicians running for local offices and a drum unit adding musical beats to the event. Among the various queens waving to the crowd will be this year’s Irish colleen, University of Iowa student Hanna Hinkel, 19, of Cedar Rapids.

Area bars, restaurants and pub crawls also are jumping on the Saturday bandwagon, hoping to lure revelers through their doors that day. Parade organizers have been working with business owners and spreading the word on social media.

The parade always has been a rain or shine event, and in 2012, summerlike temperatures brought an estimated 50,000 spectators in shorts and T-shirts. Don’t count on a repeat performance this year. Forecasts call for a much chillier day, around 25 degrees.

The public is invited to warm at the after-party an awards ceremony from 2 to 6 p.m. at the nearby HarMac Industrial Event Space, 411 Sixth Ave. SE. Maneely estimates the space will seat about 400 people. Music will be piped in, and food and drink will be available for purchase.

Maneely, 57, has been involved with SaPaDaPaSo since her parents joined up in 1983. “I’ve been drug along for the ride since then,” she said.

As much fun as it is, she said it’s also a lot of hard work, with operating expenses surpassing $20,000.

“The parade is very expensive,” she said, since the small, private nonprofit pays for everything from police and security personnel to street barricades, portable toilets, the sound system, insurance and related expenses. Last Sunday’s Irish Hooley Fundraiser raised about $10,000, but the with a core group of fewer than 20 volunteers they are seeking donations and grants to fund future parades.

“If you're an average citizen, you probably think the city of Cedar Rapids pays for this,” Maneely said. “They don’t.”

But she and her kith and kin are committed to the cause.

“My family is very proud of our Irish heritage, so the group SaPaDaPaSo is a great vehicle,” she said. “It’s a way that we can promote Irish heritage in Cedar Rapids and celebrate our Irish roots. It’s a sense of community — and it’s also a lot of fun.”

Comments: (319) 368-8508; diana.nollen@thegazette.com