When you visit Hot Springs, Arkansas, you want to make sure that you visit during St. Patrick’s Day. Though visiting anytime throughout the year will still be an amazing experience, visiting during this one special holiday will allow you to be a part of a huge celebration that brings in many visitors in the state as well as thousands of visitors out of the state.
During our trip to Hot Springs, AR with Visit Hot Springs, we were lucky enough to be able to attend and stay during St. Patrick’s Day. And were we surprised by the unique experiences that we had while in downtown Hot Springs during the Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the World.
The Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the World IN HOT SPRINGS ARKANSAS
During St. Patrick’s Day, over 30,000 people travel to Hot Springs, Arkansas to experience the festivities that come along with the Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the World. The hotels fills up and bars are packed and the fountains in downtown Hot Springs AR turn green in anticipation to watching this exciting parade. The organizers bring in two celebrities to act as The Parade Starter and the Grand Marshall. When we traveled to Hot Springs, we got to watch as Danny Trejo and Cheech Martin took on those rolls and go the attendees of the parade excited for all of the fascinating floats that came down the street.
You may be asking yourself, why is it called the shortest parade. Well, the reason is that the parade takes place downtown on Bridge Street and that is a street that is only 98 feet long. And though it is the shortest parade in the world, it is one of the biggest celebrations for St. Patrick’s Day in the nation. Originating in 2004, the celebrations have only gotten bigger and brought in more crowds each and every year. It is so big that we were told that the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, who are also a part of the celebration, have a competition of who actually gets to attend each year.
This annual tradition is celebrated with a list of activities included a VIP lunch that requires an exclusive invite, a Arkansas Blarney Stone Kissing Contents, a pre-parade performance by the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, concerts by memorable bands, and a variety of other festivities and events held by vendors in the area.
Bridge St. LIVE! IN HOT SPRINGS ARKANSAS
A part of the celebration for the Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the World is a taste of Bridge St. LIVE!. Running as a 5 night block party held in downtown Hot Springs Arkansas during the summer, Visit Hot Springs puts together an amazing night that is filled with live music held right on Bridge Street. For the parade, attendees get a taste of what the experience is with a couple of concerts – one held on the night of the parade and the other held the following night. When we attended, we got to rock out to the sounds of Foghat on St. Patrick’s Day and then to Sugar Ray on the night after. It was a night of fun and it made us feel that we needed to come back in the summer to fully experience Bridge St. LIVE!.
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