Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade brings Irish spirit to Five Points South

The Five Points South neighborhood was in the Irish spirit and decked out in green on Saturday, March 17, for the 34th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade.

People came from all across Birmingham dressed head to toe in wacky tutus, traditional kilts, Guinness hats and clover-covered clothes to see the annual parade on 20th Street. From 1:30-2:30 that afternoon, hundreds of families and children stood on the side of the road to catch candy, green beads and other trinkets from people in the parade.

Other special attractions included the Westwood Irish Dancers, face painting and balloon twisting with Magic City Face Art, the appearance of "V" from Vulcan and the Chick-Fil-A Cows, a bounce house, fire truck exploring with the Birmingham Firefighters, Birmingham police horses and a kids area. 

Most of the bars and restaurants in Five Points offered Irish-themed drink specials like Tullamore Dew Shots, Irish coffees, Guinness, Irish Car bombs and green-colored beer, as well as several food options like corned beef and cabbage, shepherd's pie and Irish nachos.

The entire six-day St. Patrick's celebration was put on by Five Point South Bham and REV Birmingham, along with several other sponsors and restaurants in the Five Points area. Learn more at stpatsfivepoints.com.