St. Patrick’s Day: How Oak Forest Celebrates Amid Pandemic

OAK FOREST, IL — The traditional parades, festivals, races and large parties that often mark the St. Patrick’s Day season and celebrate Irish heritage this month will again mostly not take place this year as the coronavirus pandemic approaches the one-year mark.

The city held its 12th annual Oak Forest Fleadh 2021 on Saturday, March 6. Fleadh is an annual event, held on the first Saturday of March. "Fleadh" which is Gaelic, for "festival" is presented by the Oak Forest-Crestwood Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of Oak Forest. This year's theme was "Fleadh Around Town."

The all-day celebration of Irish heritage featured a virtual 5K run/walk, pre-parade activities, a family parade, and a pub and restaurant open house. There were a few adjustments made for safety, in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

For the first time, "Fleadh Around Town" teamed up with Julia's Legacy for Hope, named for Julia Janes, a young Oak Forest woman who died after a long and courageous battle with cancer. A portion of the registration fees were donated to Julia's Legacy for Hope for pediatric cancer research.

Many of 2020’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations were muted at the last minute as the spread of the virus was declared a global pandemic just six days before the March 17 holiday. This year, with more time to prepare, there’s a different vibe as events go on virtually and in more creative ways.

Among the largest yearly neighborhood Irish celebrations across America is Chicago's South Side Irish Parade, which traditionally steps off on the Sunday before St. Patrick’s Day in the tight-knit Beverly community.

“Around here, the day of the South Side Irish Parade is like having Christmas and your birthday on the same day,” Tim McSweeney, co-chair of the South Side Irish Parade committee, told Patch.

Since city of Chicago officials decided not to grant any parade permits until at least April this year, the popular community parade itself was canceled for the second year in a row. But organizers have turned their disappointment into a way to help the small businesses that have supported the parade for years and have been impacted by the pandemic.

McSweeney and other parade organizers this year created “Shamrock Our Blocks,” a neighborhood decorating contest that will award the most creative displays with gift cards to local businesses.

“This keeps the joy and spirit of the South Side Irish Parade alive, celebrates St. Patrick’s Day responsibly during the pandemic and gives people something fun to do,” McSweeney said.

Residents pay $20 for a “Shamrock Our Blocks” sign to enter the contest, with a chance to win the top prize worth $2,000 — $1,000 in cash and another $1,000 in gift cards — McSweeney said. As of Wednesday, hundreds had been sold.

St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in America date back to 1631, according to National Geographic. Originally declared a feast day, over time the holiday increasingly became associated with the Irish American tradition.

The 2020 St. Patrick’s Day holiday celebrations were the first in some places to be canceled in centuries. New York City’s annual parade was not held for the first time since 1762; and Savannah, Georgia, which also hosts one of the nation’s largest parades, canceled its event for the first time since its 1824 inception.

For McSweeney and others who love the March parade season, the excitement is already in the air for a return to normal come 2022.

“The Irish have come up against adversity in the past. We are no stranger to hard times,” he said. “But we are also known for making the best of a difficult situation, and that’s what we are trying to do.”