Amanda Baran / Spotted® Savannah
Between 300,000 to 700,000 people annually descend upon Savannah for its St. Patrick's Day celebration, now 186 years in the making. As it grows, the event has taken on a lore of its own. Some of it's even true!
We talked to some tour guides, city staff and local history buffs to find out some common misconceptions visitors have of our city, and do our best to set the record straight.
Rumor #1: The biggest St. Patrick's Day celebrations in the U.S. are in New York, Boston and Chicago.
Reality: Excuse us, but you're forgetting Savannah. We may only be the fourth-largest city in the state but, Savannah claims to be home to the second largest St. Patrick's Day parade in the nation. "Most of my tourists are unaware of that," said tour guide "Savannah Dan" Leger. "They ask, 'How come? What makes this such an Irish Catholic town?" Glad you asked. Read on.
Rumor #2: The St. Patrick's Day in Savannah stems from the city's Irish Catholic roots.
Reality: Sort of. There wasn't much of a Catholic community to speak of in 1824 when a Protestant group known as the Hibernian Society held the first parade. Their mission was to celebrate Irish culture to raise money for poor immigrants. In the mid-1800s, many Irish fleeing the Great Famine settled in Savannah where they found work in the ports. By 1860, the Irish made up 22 percent of Savannah's white population.
Rumor #3: The city dyes the river green.
Reality: Tried it; didn't work so well. Unlike the annual greening of the Chicago River, locals found their one attempt at dyeing the Savannah River in 1961 to be a disappointment. Shortly after a line of boats spanning the 600-foot-wide chanel emptied 45 gallons of dye each, the current slowly swept the results out to sea. "A large portion of the river became greenish, if not the kelly green planned," wrote the late Savannah Morning News editor Archie Whitfield on March 18, 1961. "The ultimate effect was not as startling as had been hoped for." (We do, however, successfully dye the fountains green.)
Rumor #4: The parade is dominated by drunks and debauchery/boring, family-oriented, religious stuff.
Reality: "It's everything for everybody," said tour guide Ron Higgins. Savannah's St. Patrick's Day celebration, starting days before the parade, includes public and private traditions catering to the multi-generational Irish Catholic families who mark the day with pride, faith and reverie to the throw-caution-to-the-wind college kids on spring break.
Rumor #5: Women flash their breasts during the parade and at the post-parade celebrations, a la New Orleans' Mardi Gras.
Reality: This is possibly the quickest way to leave the festivities in handcuffs. Since 1983, when young topless women almost made "Erin Go Bare" the new motto of the party, Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police have cracked down on the exposure of private parts. As well, voiding your bladder will get your a citation, fines or possibly arrested.
Rumor #6: You'll be arrested if you drink on the street.
Reality: Fortunately, not true! City ordinance allows everyone 21 and older to enjoy his or her favorite adult beverages in a 16-ounce plastic cup or smaller within the downtown area inside Jones Street to the south, River Street to the north (wrist band required on River Street, Boundary Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard to the west and East Broad Street to the east. The "to-go cup" rules apply 365 days a year; not just on St. Patrick's Day.
Rumor #7: Parade-goers camp out in the squares overnight before the parade to reserve a good viewing spot.
Reality: Not anymore. Years ago, locals and visitors used to camp out in the squares up to two days in advance of the parade to reserve a spot for their friends and family. "It was starting to get a little bit nuts out there," said Bret Bell, spokesman for the City of Savannah. Police fielded noise complaints by downtown residents and discovered underage drinking in the squares. Today, no one is allowed to stake their claim until 6 a.m. the day of the parade. "There's a big, crazy rush," Bell said. "These people know exactly what they're doing to get a spot. They've got a game plan."
Rumor #8: The streets smell like the Porta-Potty waste the day after the parade.
Reality: It can get bad sometimes when the celebration falls on a weekend. For example, in 2007 Chippewa Square had to be sanitized three times because of the urine and vomit. However, city sanitation workers are on overtime this week to get things cleaned up quickly, Bell said. Crews on foot work during the parade to empty trash cans. Immediately after, they'll start sweeping through the squares picking up trash and roping off flower beds that might have been trampled. At 3 a.m. Thursday. street sweepers and an "army" of sanitation workers decend on River Street. "They're out there pretty quickly," Bell said.
