The Forest Park Chamber of Commerce has announced that the village’s 26th annual St. Patrick’s Day parade and celebration will return in 2022, with revelers invited to hit Madison Street for all the festivities on Saturday, March 5.
The 2020 edition of the parade was one of the last events in Forest Park before the COVID-19 pandemic reached Chicagoland, and organizers tried on two separate occasions to hold a 2021 event before being forced to cancel, once in March and again in September.
In an email to chamber members earlier this month, Executive Director Laurie Kokenes touted the success of the 2021 Casket Races and Holiday Walk — both of which were nixed in 2020 for safety reasons — as a reminder of the important role events like these play for the business and larger communities.
“We were able to bring joy and some much-needed fun to the business community and all of Forest Park,” Kokenes wrote. “The events brought people to town and into our businesses.”
In the past, the St. Patrick’s Day parade has drawn thousands of people to downtown Forest Park, serving as one of the village’s most important and well-attended gatherings.
The chamber is seeking sponsorship partners for the event and has also opened parade registration. The 1 p.m. parade runs along Madison Street, beginning at Van Buren Street and traveling east to Elgin Avenue.
For more information, visit exploreforestpark.com.
