Photos: Downtown Cedar Rapids goes green for SaPaDaPaSo Parade

The annual St. Patrick’s Day parade enjoyed full sun and unseasonably warm weather on Monday

Mar. 17, 2025 5:27 pm, Updated: Mar. 18, 2025 10:40 am

Z102.9’s Eric Hanson leads his marching band during the SaPaDaPaSo St. Patrick’s Day Parade in southeast Cedar Rapids on Monday. It was 50 years ago when calls to a local radio station started coming in about the possibility of having a parade. The first St. Patrick’s Day Parade debuted in 1976. The non-profit SaPaDaPaSo began sponsoring the parade in 1978. The parade was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

The 2025 Irish Colleen Kaelynn Blood waves to parade watchers during the SaPaDaPaSo St. Patrick’s Day Parade in southeast Cedar Rapids on Monday. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Members of CR Pride wave from their float during the SaPaDaPaSo St. Patrick’s Day Parade in southeast Cedar Rapids on Monday. The parade traveled through downtown Cedar Rapids on Monday afternoon. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Avis Boutilier (left) and Tammy Maneely (right) dance to “Stayin’ Alive” as they parade with the Maneely, Davis and Dalziel families parade unit Staying Alive Irish Style during the SaPaDaPaSo St. Patrick’s Day Parade in southeast Cedar Rapids on Monday. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Stacy Stoneking stands with her 13-month-old standard poodle Neptune during the SaPaDaPaSo St. Patrick’s Day Parade in southeast Cedar Rapids on Monday. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Andrew Race of Belle Plaine checks his phone as he wears his leprechaun hat and beard during the SaPaDaPaSo St. Patrick’s Day Parade in southeast Cedar Rapids on Monday. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Brian Glynn carries the Irish flag as he walks with the Glynn Gang unit, Blarney & Bailey’s Irish Circus, during the SaPaDaPaSo St. Patrick’s Day Parade in southeast Cedar Rapids on Monday. It was 50 years ago when calls to a local radio station started coming in about the possibility of having a parade. The first St. Patrick’s Day Parade debuted in 1976. The non-profit SaPaDaPaSo began sponsoring the parade in 1978. The parade was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Molly Glynn checks her outfit as she prepares with the Glynn Gang unit, Blarney & Bailey’s Irish Circus, during the SaPaDaPaSo St. Patrick’s Day Parade in southeast Cedar Rapids on Monday. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Michele Burke portrays a leprechaun as she reclines atop of pot o’ gold on the Harrington family’s float during the SaPaDaPaSo St. Patrick’s Day Parade in southeast Cedar Rapids on Monday. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Tony Johnson with Skogman Insurance smiles at the start of the SaPaDaPaSo St. Patrick’s Day Parade in southeast Cedar Rapids on Monday. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell waves to parade watchers during the SaPaDaPaSo St. Patrick’s Day Parade in southeast Cedar Rapids on Monday. It was 50 years ago when calls to a local radio station started coming in about the possibility of having a parade. The first St. Patrick’s Day Parade debuted in 1976. The non-profit SaPaDaPaSo began sponsoring the parade in 1978. The parade was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Seven-year-old Dominic O’Rourke looks down the parade route as he wears his green and clovers during the SaPaDaPaSo St. Patrick’s Day Parade in southeast Cedar Rapids on Monday. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)