Cedar Rapids’ SaPaDaPaSo & St. Joseph’s Day Parade Details

Wear your green Friday and your red Saturday as two parades fill the streets of Cedar Rapids.

St. Patrick's Day in Cedar Rapids is awesome and the annual SaPaDaPaSo Parade started in 1975, is one of the big reasons. I love the fact that it seems like nearly all of Cedar Rapids shows up for it... especially the kids. The 42nd Annual parade will step off at 1 p.m., but get downtown early to get your spot. Here's the route the parade will take. Be sure to watch (and listen) for us along the way!

These streets will be closed due to parade activities:

Street closures for the staging area, beginning at 11 a.m.:
· 4th Avenue SE from 5th Street SE to 8th Street SE
· 6th Street SE from 3rd Avenue SE to 5th Avenue SE
· 7th Street SE from 3rd Avenue SE to 5th Avenue SE

Closed from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. for the parade:
· 6th Street SE from 1st Avenue SE to 3rd Avenue SE
· 5th Street SE from 1st Avenue SE to 4th Avenue SE
· 3rd Street SE from 1st Avenue SE to 4th Avenue SE
· 2nd Street SE from 1st Avenue SE to 4th Avenue SE
· 2nd Avenue SE from 2nd Street SE to 7th Street SE
· 3rd Avenue SE from 1st Street SE to 6th Street SE

After the parade, there's a post-parade celebration and awards ceremony. It's held right after the parade ends in the Veterans Memorial building on Mays Island. There's music, food and beverages for purchase, and no admission fee. It's open to all ages. Parade winners will be announced at around 4:30.

Saturday brings the annual St. Joseph's Day Parade which kicks off on 4th St. SE and will cross the Cedar River on 16th Avenue, before ending at C St. SW in Czech Village. That parade also begins at 1 p.m.

These streets will be closed from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday for the parade:

· 4th Street SE from 12th Avenue SE to 16th Avenue SE
· 16th Avenue SE/SW from 4th Street SE to C Street SW
· C Street SW from 15th Avenue SW to 16th Avenue SW
· 15th Avenue SW form A Street SW to C Street SW

Fifteen minutes after Saturday's parade ends, an awards ceremony will be held at the Kosek Bandstand on 16th Ave. S.W.

There will be plenty of partying in Cedar Rapids before and after both parades. If you're among those that will be partaking, please be safe and use a designated driver. The Linn County Sheriff's Department tells us there were a total of 458 accidents around the state of Iowa March 17 through 20 of last year. More than 750 people were injured in those crashes. The Sheriff's Department will be stepping up enforcement during the upcoming weekend. Let's do our part to get all the accident and injury numbers from 2016 a whole lot lower in 2017.

[via SaPaDaPaSo, Czech Village, Little Village Mag, Czech Village, and Linn County Sheriff's Department]