Cabbages, potatoes and carrots will not fly overhead in the Irish Channel for the second year in a row, but there’s no reason to stew over a subdued St. Patrick’s Day in the era of covid restrictions. Cravings for a celebration will be met by Shamrock Our Blocks, a grassroots do-it-yourself initiative for the upcoming holiday.
As the pandemic stretches past the one-year mark in mid-March, the annual Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day parade that draws thousands to the Uptown neighborhood named for its 19th-century immigrant population has been canceled for a second time. Though crowds will not gather along Magazine Street and St. Charles Avenue for this high-spirited rite of spring—best known for legions of tuxedoed lads exchanging paper carnations for a kiss and float riders tossing every ingredient but corned beef and mutton for a traditional feast—enterprising locals have come up with a safe alternative for indulging in all things Irish.