WORCESTER—Mild temperatures in the low 60s under an overcast sky served as the backdrop for the 43rd Worcester County St. Patrick’s Parade as it marched its way down a two-mile stretch of Park Avenue from Mill Street to Highland Street on Sunday.
The early morning rain cleared and gave way to dry conditions much to the delight of the thousands of onlookers clad in a sea of green and white who lined the length of the parade route from Webster Square to Elm Park.
Kate McEvoy, an accomplished senior-level business leader both inside and outside the health care industry, served as the parade’s Grand Marshal. McEvoy was most recently vice president for corporate relations at UMass Memorial Healthcare before serving as vice president for central and western Massachusetts for Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.
“What I think the parade best represents is the willingness of a handful of people to volunteer their time and create something that the whole region enjoys,” said McEvoy.
“More than 125,000 people come to this event each year, and it all started with a bunch of folks saying ‘Why don’t we have a parade here? Let’s make it happen.’ Forty-three years later some of those very same people do the work—all year long—to make it happen. It’s an event that is beloved by so many.”
The 2025 edition of the parade featured 36 floats and 14 bands representing more than 40 community groups. The musical selections ranged from traditional Irish folk songs to the melodic beats of marching bands from the College of the Holy Cross and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Joining in the festivities was the Burncoat High Spirit Team that placed third in a national competition in Florida last year.
At an event that features something for everyone, some of the loudest cheers still belong to longtime parade participants the Melha Shriners and their fleet of trickster mini-cars, motorcycles, four-wheelers and go-karts.
Before the parade, the event kicked off with the 14th running of the Celtic 5K road race along Park Ave. The race annually features approximately 2,000 participants from Worcester County and beyond.
Mike Vigneux is a freelance writer in Worcester with more than 20 years of experience in the fields of municipal government, communications, and public relations. An avid fan of all sports, Mike enjoys telling the stories of local athletes and their teams. He holds two degrees from Clark University, a bachelor of arts in Communication and a master of science in Professional Communication. He can be reached at Mikevigs@gmail.com
