2025 Parade Application - South Side Irish Parade

In 1979, the South Side Irish Parade was established by families for families. It is an opportunity for families, friends & neighbors to display pride in heritage, family and community.

The Parade Committee wishes to uphold this valued theme by asking parade units and their
participants to abide by some simple rules, which will be sent to you once your application is approved and invitation accepted.

We ask that you pay particular attention to the rules, concerning alcoholic beverages and electioneering. Parade participants who do not honor these policies will be removed from the parade route. Also, your group’s participation in future parades will be denied.

As you may be aware, issues with alcohol resulted in the suspension of the parade for 2 years. We have now adopted a ZERO-TOLERANCE policy regarding the illegal practice of alcohol consumption in the public way.

PARADE APPLICATION LINK IS AT BOTTOM OF PAGE

INFORMATION AND RULES

The 47th Annual South Side Irish St. Patrick’s Day Parade steps off at exactly 12:00 Noon (snow, rain or shine), on Sunday, March 16, 2025. The parade route will be along Western Avenue from 103rd to 115th Streets. Units will dispense between 116th and 119th Streets.

Participation is allowed by application approval and permit invitation only. The Parade Committee will notify all approved participants via email or phone. No unit will be allowed in the parade assembly area unless it has been authorized by the Committee and displays an assigned permit number. Each group will only be allowed to march if their unit was accurately described in their application. No non-affiliated groups, politicians or businesses are allowed unless they were included in the application and approved by the committee. Each unit’s application fee and position in the parade are determined by these factors. Your group will not be allowed to

march if these criteria are not met.

In addition, in order to accommodate the parade’s zero tolerance on alcohol, there will be restrictions on buses entering the neighborhood. All buses will be required to have a permit issued by the Parade Committee. If your group is coming on a bus, a bus permit will be sent with your regular parade permit. Your bus then must immediately leave the staging area.

Parade participation permits will be issued according to the following criteria:

Application approval
Availability of open positions,
Quality of entry (enhancement of the parade)
Previous years’ involvement
Date of application receipt

The Committee reserves the right to deny a permit to any unit which, in their judgement, does not reflect the family, community, Irish heritage or philosophy of the parade.

Alcoholic beverages will not be allowed in the parade. This year the parade committee has hired a private security firm to help us enforce this policy. This rule will be strictly enforced by the Chicago Police Department and the private security firm.

Each unit is limited to one float or a smartly dressed marching unit, reflecting the description on the parade application.

All floats and marching units must be dignified, non-commercial, and reinforce the family and community theme of our parade. Buses, cars, tractors, etc. are NOT considered an enhancement toward that goal.

Make your unit attractive and innovative. Have your group dress and march uniformly, i.e., using the same hats, banners, colors, etc.

Safety along the parade route is of utmost importance. People riding on floats shall board them in the staging area and remain on these units until they reach the dispersal area south of 116th Street.

In order to prevent serious injury along the parade route, the disbursement of objects such as candy, buttons, product samples, literature, etc. is prohibited. No objects may be thrown from parade floats or vehicles nor are participants allowed to pass items along the curb line. This rule will be strictly enforced and conforms with the City of Chicago parade rules and regulations.

Absolutely no electioneering or campaigning will be permitted unless your organization is registered and paid as a political unit. Please note that banners, placards or signs associated with electioneering will be removed unless your group is registered and paid as a political group and your unit will be removed from the line of march. If any of the above conditions are not met, you and your unit will be asked to leave the parade area.