Story: @TamaraJolee, Dallas Mavs

The 2022 St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival, presented by the Dallas Mavericks, will take place Saturday, March 12, with legend Dirk Nowitzki serving as this year’s Grand Marshal. It’s the 41st year of the parade — so local leaders thought it made sense to have No. 41 lead the event.

The parade is the largest St. Patrick’s parade in the Southwest and admission is free.

Over 125,000 people are expected to turn out for the event; the parade is returning in 2022 after a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic.

The annual parade is hosted by the Greenville Avenue Area Business Association, which was founded in 1987, and presented by the Dallas Mavericks, the event’s top sponsor since 2016.

Fans might remember that Mavs governor Mark Cuban helped revive the iconic parade in 2012. He’s a staunch supporter of the celebration and scholarship fund. In the past, Cuban has served as grand marshal and this year will be especially unique because of the connection to Nowitzki.

“Every year we look forward to one of the biggest events in Dallas, the St. Patrick’s Parade, and this year we are thrilled to once again partner with the Mavericks and Dallas’ own Dirk Nowitzki to bring that vision to life,” said Kevin Vela, Board Chairman of GAABA.

“The Mavs organization has been our number one sponsor for many years and a phenomenal parade partner. We’re proud to work together to bring top notch family-friendly entertainment to the community while making a valuable contribution to area youth through our educational scholarship fund.”

The famous celebration will start at Greenville Avenue at Blackwell Street starting at 11 a.m. and then end at SMU Boulevard and Central Expressway. The festival will run from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., with a concert at Energy Square until 5 p.m.

“The Mavericks are excited to be partnering once again with GAABA in 2022 to showcase one of Dallas’ most beloved traditions,” said Dallas Mavs CEO Cynt Marshall. “We love bringing the community together, and as a presenting sponsor, the Dallas Mavericks are showing up big with the Mavs Express bus, Mascots and ManiAACs.”

City leaders say it will be a momentous occasion for people who call North Texas home along with businesses that have weathered the storm the last two years.

“There’s been a lot of suffering, but we’ve kept our heads up in this city and worked hard to get to this point where we could safely do something like this again,” said Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson.

The Dallas St. Patrick’s Parade & Festival (formerly known as the Greenville Avenue St. Patrick’s Parade) is a Dallas tradition that began in 1979 with a few vehicles and a quick trip down lower Greenville. Now the parade hosts over 90 floats and draws thousands of people.

Proceeds from the parade will benefit and support the GAABA Scholarship Fund for graduating seniors from Dallas ISD schools. Each year, the fund provides $45,000 to students at Conrad, Woodrow and North Dallas high schools.

This year, the goal is to raise $41,000, of course, in donations. It’s the perfect number and time to honor one of the greatest legends to ever play the game. Nowitzki said he’s ready to look out into the sea of green and soak in the entire atmosphere.

“(The parade) is bringing people back together after two obviously long and hard years worldwide,” Nowitzki said during a press conference Tuesday. “There’s really no plan on my end going into the parade, I’m just going to enjoy it and be myself!”

For parade routes and more information, click here. 

 

Share and comment

More Mavs News