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The St. Patrick’s Day Parade of Morris County returns to Morristown on Saturday, March 13, 2027, stepping off at noon on South Street. It will be the 48th annual parade, and organizers expect more than 3,000 marchers in front of a crowd that routinely runs between 50,000 and 70,000 people, which makes it the biggest St. Patrick’s Day parade in Morris County and one of the largest in New Jersey.
2027 Parade Date, Time and Route
The 2027 parade is Saturday, March 13, 2027, starting at 12 noon. The parade starts near Morristown Town Hall at 200 South Street, where a green ribbon is cut across South Street to send the marchers off, and the procession typically wraps up around 2 p.m. Expect downtown streets to close ahead of the start, so plan to arrive early, park once, and walk in. The full schedule and parade day details are posted on the parade committee’s site, ParadeDay.com.
The 2027 Grand Marshal and Parade Starter
The 2027 Grand Marshal is Trish O’Keefe, Ph.D., R.N., president of Atlantic Health Morristown Medical Center, who began her career as a bedside nurse 45 years ago and has been involved with the parade for more than 25 years. The 2027 Parade Starter is Walter Hansberry, the longtime manager of the Grand Café in Morristown, who will cut the ribbon at the head of the route. Hansberry, a native of Dungarvan in County Waterford, joined the Grand Café in 1987.
A Parade With Deep Morris County Roots
Morris County’s St. Patrick’s Day parade began in Wharton in 1979 and moved to Morristown in 1991. Parade organizers also point to a much older local connection. After the harsh winter encampment of 1779 to 1780 at Jockey Hollow, George Washington granted Irish militiamen the day off on March 17, 1780, in recognition of their service during the Revolutionary War, a moment organizers describe as the first St. Patrick’s Day celebration in the United States.
The parade is run by the nonprofit St. Patrick’s Day Parade of Morris County, Inc. and is paid for entirely by corporate and individual sponsors and Parade Patrons, with no public money used for parade expenses. The most recent parade stepped off in Morristown on Saturday, March 14, 2026, and this page is updated each year with the new date and honorees.
Making a Day of It in Morristown
Parade day is one of the busiest days of the year for downtown restaurants and pubs, and many fill up before the first pipe band passes, so reserve early or plan to eat before the crowds arrive. Our guide to the best restaurants in Morristown, NJ covers where to eat before and after the parade, our local’s guide to Morristown covers the rest of the town, and if you are coming back for more, Morristown Restaurant Week follows in the spring.
Get a running start on the day: the St. Paddy’s Day 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run takes off from Ginty Field in Morris Township on March 13, 2027, the same day as the Morristown parade.
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