The Allentown St. Patrick’s Parade Committee, Inc. recently announced the schedule of events surrounding the 63rd Allentown St. Patrick’s Parade presented by Giant Food Stores.

The parade will be held March 22 departing from the Allentown Fairgrounds 1:30 p.m.

Parade-related events will kick off Feb. 16 at the annual fundraiser event held at Christopher’s at the Columbian Home, 1519 Greenleaf St., Allentown.

Food Drive to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley – February and March.

The Parade committee will host a food drive to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley. Presenting sponsor GIANT Food Stores has supplied brown grocery bags to be distributed door-to-door in the West End neighborhood the week before the Parade and the bags will also be distributed at some of the Parade sponsored events. The Food Drive kicks off at the annual fundraiser event being held Feb.16 at Christopher’s at the Columbian Home. Donations will also be taken at the Coronation Celebration March 20 and the Irish Cultural Community Day being held March 21 respectively at Allentown Fairgrounds. The Parade group is asking all spectators of the parade to bring a nonperishable food item to donate.

Parade Fundraising Event

Christopher’s at the Columbian Home, 1519 Greenleaf St., will host the 18th annual fundraising event 3 to 6 p.m. Feb. 16. The event is open to the public.

The event will include music by DJ John Harvey and raffles. The 2020 King and Queen, Barri and Lisa Arnold, will be introduced and the winners of the 2020 parade poster contest will be announced. All guests are asked to bring a nonperishable food item to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley.

There is a cost for tickets.

Tickets include select beers (sponsored by Banko Beverages) and soda with admission as well as door prizes. Tickets can be purchased at the website, www.allentownstpatricksparade.com.

Parade Pub Crawl

The Parade Pub Crawl will take place March 14 throughout the West End of Allentown.

The pub crawl begins promptly 5 p.m.

Proceeds from the Pub Crawl benefit the Allentown St. Patrick’s Parade to pay for marching units and bands.

The eight sponsoring pubs are: Jack Callaghan’s Ale House, Tavern on Liberty Street, The Roost of Allentown, Volpe’s Sports Bar, Shanty on 19th, Fairgrounds Hotel, Sleepy Cat Urban Winery and Greg’s West End Saloon.

A $15 donation to benefit the Allentown St. Patrick’s Parade will include a commemorative T-shirt.

City of Allentown Flag Raising

On March 17 the flag of the Republic of Ireland will be raised at City Hall Plaza, Allentown 11:45 a.m.

The flag raising event is to commemorate the contributions of those of Irish heritage who helped to form and grow Allentown and the greater Allentown area.

The program will feature a pipe salute by Mackay Pipe Band and brief remarks by John A. Chaya, co-president of the Allentown St. Patrick’s Parade Committee, Inc. and Raymond O’Connell, Mayor of the City of Allentown. Allentown City Hall is located at 435 Hamilton St.

Coronation Celebration

Barri and Lisa Arnold will be crowned the 2020 King and Queen of the Allentown St. Patrick’s Parade March 20 at the Agricultural Hall Annex at the Allentown Fairgrounds.

The coronation celebration begins 7:30 p.m. with doors opening 7 p.m. The ceremony takes place 8:30 p.m.

There is a cost for tickets. Tickets include a copy of the 2020 St. Patrick’s Parade Program Book, a complimentary beer (provided by Banko Beverage), soda and a door prize ticket. The event is BYOB. There is no cost for anyone under 21.

The Allentown Fairgrounds/Agricultural Hall Annex is located at 19th and Liberty Sts. Purchase tickets on the wbesite www.allentownstpatricksparade.com.

Seventh annual Irish Cultural Community Day

The seventh annual Irish Cultural Community Day, presented by the West End Alliance, will be held noon to 4 p.m. March 21 at the Agricultural Hall Annex at the Allentown Fairgrounds.

The event is presented by the Allentown St. Patrick’s Parade Committee, Inc.

Irish Cultural Community Day is a family-friendly free event and features demonstrations in Irish dance, hurling, Celtic games, art, bagpipe, fiddle and all will have children and audience participation. Featured this year will be an expanded Celtic Highland Games competition for children, featuring three events, with prizes given in multiple age categories.

For more information, visit the website www.allentownstpatricksparade.com.

St. Patrick’s Mass

A Mass to celebrate St. Patrick will be held 9:15 a.m. March 22 at Immaculate Conception Church celebrated by the Most Rev. Alfred A.

Schlert, Bishop of Allentown. The Mass will feature a procession led by the MacKay bagpipe band that includes former parade kings and queens and the 2020 king and queen.

Immaculate Conception Church is located at 501 Ridge Ave., Allentown.

West End 5K

The West End Alliance is sponsoring a 5K run along the parade route March 22.

Registration is open through March 17 or until the limit of 1,000 runners has been reached. No race-day registration will be available.

There is a registration fee.

Commemorative glassware and shirts will be available for purchase through March 1. Extras will be available for purchase on race day.

The race will start 12:15 p.m. and will start and end at Muhlenberg College Memorial Hall. Prizes will be awarded.

Registration can be made online at www.westendstpats5k.com. Proceeds from the race support neighborhood development efforts and beautification in the West End Theatre District.

The race has raised more than $75,000 for the West End Alliance since 2009.

House Decorating/Porch Party Contest

The 2020 Allentown St. Patrick’s Parade Committee will host a house decorating/porch party contest to be judged by an independent person chosen by the Parade committee March 20. Prizes, donated by the West End Pubs, will be awarded to the “best porch party” and “best decorated house” along the parade route.

The parade will form at the fairgrounds track near the Liberty and 17th Streets gate ( Main Gate vicinity). The parade will proceed west on Liberty, turn north on 19th Street, west on Tilghman to 25th Street, south on 25th Street to Liberty Street then east on Liberty Street and disband at the Fairgrounds 19th Street gate.

All homes along the parade route are encouraged to participate. Prizes will be awarded immediately upon conclusion of the parade.

Massed Bands Exhibition

A massed bands exhibition will take place immediately before the parade 1 p.m. March 20 on North 19th Street between Tilghman and Liberty Streets. All pipe bands will perform in unison under the direction of Drum Major Jason Litz.

After the arade the pipe bands will proceed to a pub crawl sponsoring pub to perform additional tunes.

63rd annual Allentown St. Patrick’s Parade

The 2020 Allentown St. Patrick’s Parade, now in its 63rd year, will start 1:30 p.m. March 22.

The parade route will form at the fairgrounds track near the Liberty and 19th Streets gate (Main Gate vicinity). The parade will proceed west on Liberty, turn north on 19th Street, west on Tilghman Street to 25th Street, south on 25th Street to Liberty Street, then east on Liberty Street and disband at the Fairgrounds 19th Street gate. The Parade will include the 2020 parade king and queen riding in a white coach drawn by a team of Belgian horses followed by parade divisions, each led by a pipe band.

For information on the 2020 Allentown St. Patrick’s Parade, email lisawardarnold@verizon.net.

For details on all parade activities or to purchase individual event tickets go to www.allentownstpatricksparade.com.

About the Allentown St. Patrick’s Parade

The first known St. Patrick’s Parade was held in Allentown in the late 1860’s. Over a century later, in 1955, the modern-day Allentown St. Patrick’s Parade was organized by business and political leaders through the St. Patrick’s Day Observance Society.

The parade will celebrate its 63rd anniversary March 22 departing from the Allentown Fairgrounds and for the fifth year the presenting sponsor will be GIANT Food Stores.

For more information or to participate in the 2020 Allentown St. Patrick’s Parade, go to www.allentownstpatricksparade.com.

Registration to participate can be done by completing the online registration form at www.allentownstpatricksparade.com through Feb. 17.

The Allentown St. Patrick’s Parade reserves the right to approve all registration submissions.