2022

2022 Dogtown United Neighborhood Float

Each year, Dogtown United joins the Ancient Order of Hibernians St. Patrick’s Day Parade with a neighborhood float that welcomes all residents and friends to be a part of the celebration. The float is an adult-only event and tickets were available for $50 per person. Included with the purchase of a ticket, attendees enjoyed a pre-parade breakfast with complimentary adult beverages and a private portable toilet, a sponsor goodie bag and the 2022 Discover Dogtown booklet.

Thank you to everyone who joined our float and a special shout out to Chris Cook Phelps who coordinated the float design, setup and coordinated with attendees!

Congratulations to our St. Patrick's Day House Decorating Contest Winners!

This year, we had 11 participants and over 1,400 votes in our annual House Decorating Contest. You can see all of their amazingly decorated homes in the Dogtown United Facebook album here. The winners of the contest were selected based on those that had the most votes (likes). Thank you all for sharing your St. Patrick’s Day pride with the neighborhood!

Congratulations to our 2022 House Decorating Contest Winners!

We delivered prizes to our contest winners on March 20 with the Ancient Order of Hibernians Color Guard. All participants received a bag of goodies from our contest sponsor, Anna Garcia, Garcia Properties, and the top four houses received prizes from our partners.

Thank you to all of participants and everyone who voted for our 2022 contest winners! We can’t wait to see the decorations you come up with next year.

6 Steps for a Successful St. Patrick’s Day in Dogtown

The 2022 Dogtown St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Irish Festival is TOMORROW!! We have been looking forward to this since 2019 when we were last able to celebrate in person. Take one last look over our six-step checklist to help ensure your St. Patrick’s Day is a success. 

1. Make a plan for parking or getting a ride to and from Dogtown

Whether you live in Dogtown or are driving in for the day, you need to make sure you know where you will be able to park and what streets will be open to get in and out of the neighborhood. Be sure to review our detailed maps below (and visit our FAQs page) as you put your plan in place. Since day-of parking and street restrictions begin at 6:00 a.m., Dogtown residents parked along these streets are encouraged to move their vehicles the night before.

If you are a visitor, ride-hailing is a great option to get yourself to Dogtown without worrying about what roads are open and where to park. The ride-hailing pick-up area is located on Clayton near Crescent. 

Aside from street parking, parking is also available for a fee at the St. Louis Zoo parking lots (north of I-64 and off of Oakland and Berthold), St. James the Greater Parish Park Lot, and at the St. Louis Marketplace (south of Manchester).

No matter how you arrive in Dogtown, remember that you will not be able to cross Tamm Avenue while the parade is happening between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

2. Get your go-to green outfit ready

Of course! Hopefully, you have already snagged some of Emily Stahl’s Dogtown stickers to wear with your Series Six official festival shirt. If you don’t have a go-to green outfit yet, don’t worry. Series Six still has plenty of green gear that you can pick up in-store at 26 The Blvd Saint Louis Street | Richmond Heights, MO 63117 on March 16. You can also stop by the Series Six booth at the Irish Festival on March 17 and get your gear on the go.

3. Pack your pockets and purses

As has been the case since 2013, coolers and backpacks (as well as cans, bottles, and outside alcohol) are prohibited from the Parade and Irish Festival. This presents a great opportunity to pack light and support local businesses and vendors. When you’re packing your purse and/or pockets, consider bringing some of these festival essentials:

  • Credit card and/or cash
    While most vendors will accept credit cards, having cash on hand never hurts!

  • Sunglasses, hat, sunscreen
    Have you seen the weather for Thursday?? Partly sunny with a high of 78. 

  • Hand sanitizer
    For use before, during, and after using the many portable toilets available throughout the neighborhood

  • Mask (optional)
    There are no restrictions pertaining to the festival’s outdoor gatherings. The City of St. Louis no longer mandates masks to be worn indoors while in a public facility, but private businesses within the festival zone may have additional health protocols in place related to indoor activities. We urge you to adhere to CDC guidelines to practice social distancing whenever possible.

  • Child care accessories
    Any containers needed for child care purposes will be allowed at the event

4. Know the schedule of events

The Irish Festival begins at 9:00 a.m., which gives you plenty of time to stop by a vendor or two while you scope out a good spot to watch the parade. The parade leaves from Wells Drive (in Forest Park) at 11:00 a.m. and moves south down Tamm Avenue towards Manchester. The route takes approximately 30 minutes, so the 90 floats will complete the parade within about two hours. The Irish Festival officially ends at 6:00 p.m. and all Tamm Avenue businesses will close by 8:00 p.m.

If you’re looking for entertainment, check out the schedule for live music and dancing throughout Dogtown:


9:30 a.m. Irish Dancers from the Clark Academy (Family Zone - POWERS Stage)

10:00 a.m. Live Music with Paul Cassidy, John Bolduan, Eileen Gannon and Robert Ryan (Family Zone - POWERS Stage)

12:00 p.m. Irish Aires and Irish Dancing (Irish Culture Zone - Guinness Stage)

1:00 p.m. Live Music with Ashby Laws, Griffin Reed, Holly Laws and Jennifer Kelly (Family Zone - POWERS Stage)

1:00 p.m. Rusty Nail (Party Zone - Bud Light Stage)

Keep in mind that cell phone signals may be weak due to crowd size. When visitors are preparing to leave the festival, carve out some extra time to find cell service, hail a cab or ride-sharing accommodations, and make your way to the pick-up area.

5. Be respectful of the neighborhood and its residents

As you enjoy St. Patrick’s Day, be mindful that you are doing so in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Many of the sidewalks along the parade route are adjacent to residential homes and businesses. Please do not trespass on private property. While crowds may be larger around the intersection of Clayton and Tamm, it is usually less crowded towards the end of the parade route towards Manchester.

There will be numerous dumpsters and trash barrels throughout the neighborhood, so be sure to dispose of trash in the proper receptacles. If you are interested in helping with the neighborhood clean-up, click here to signup. 

Portable toilets are available at every intersection across Tamm. Public urinating will not be tolerated.

Dogtown residents, business owners and staff, security officials, and event managers will be making every effort to ensure the 2022 St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Irish Festival is enjoyable for all who attend. In appreciation of their efforts, please be courteous and respectful - and have fun!

6. Share your experience

As you are celebrating (or later when you’re on WiFi), share your experience on social by tagging @dogtownunited (on Facebook or Instagram) and using #Dogtown2022. You can also tag some of the partners and sponsors. We love to see your photos! If you are a professional photographer or are interested in making your photos available to use in marketing for next year’s event, please email dogtownunited@gmail.com for more information.

 

Have a great time tomorrow and be safe. Sláinte!

The 2022 Bud Light Next Party Zone

We are excited to welcome you to the 2022 Bud Light Next Party Zone at this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Irish Festival in Dogtown. Held at the intersection of Clayton and Tamm, the Party Zone is one of the event’s most popular areas. In addition to the brick-and-mortar bars and restaurants available in the area, a variety of local vendors and food and beverage booths will be available to browse.

LOCAL VENDORS

FOOD + BEVERAGES

The Party Zone is the best place to be to catch live music on St. Patrick’s Day. Rusty Nail will be playing from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. on the Bud Light Stage, so be sure to stop by!

The 2022 The Dogtown Pizza Family Zone

Located on Oakland by the new Oakland Playground, the Dogtown Pizza Family Zone offers live music, games and activities, photo ops and food vendors for all ages. Be sure to stop by any time between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to enjoy family-friendly fun.

LIVE MUSIC

  • 9:30 to 10:00 a.m. Irish Dancers from the Clark Academy

  • 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. Paul Cassidy, John Bolduan, Eileen Gannon, Robert Ryan

  • 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Ashby Laws, Griffin Reed, Holly Laws, Jennifer Kelly

FAMILY ACTIVITIES WITH PARTNERS

Official Merchandise of the 2022 Dogtown Irish Festival

Series Six is a St. Louis apparel shop, owned by St. Louisan Sami Maurer. As part of their Support Local Series, the company create a charity T-shirt of the month and donates 100% of the profits back to the featured charity. For the month of March, the Dogtown St. Patrick’s Day Irish Festival is fortunate enough to be the chosen charity! Read out Q+A with Series Six business owner, Sami Maurer, here.

Updated April 2022: Shirts are no longer available for purchase. Stay tuned for the official 2023 merchandise!

Street Closures in Dogtown on March 17, 2022

Please be aware of the following street closures and changes in Dogtown that will be in effect on Thursday, March 17, 2022.

  • Wells Drive in Forest Park between Government Drive and Tamm Avenue overpass

  • Oakland between just west of Art Hill to just east of Graham

  • Tamm between Oakland and Manchester

  • The following streets between Childress and Graham: Berthold, Clayton, Victoria, West Park, Nashville, Wade, and Lloyd, Brockschmidt and all alleys

  • Childress from Brockschmidt to Oakland will be re-directed to ONE-WAY traffic heading NORTH; There will be No Parking on the west side of Childress in this area

  • Graham will be closed to traffic between Oakland and Victoria

  • Graham from Victoria to Manchester will be re-directed to ONE-WAY traffic heading SOUTH; there will be No Parking on the east side of Graham in this area. 

  • Crescent from Clayton to Hampton will be re-directed to one-way traffic heading EAST (reverse of its normal direction)

  • The entire Bud Light NEXT Party Zone will be closed 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., which includes Tamm Avenue from Berthold to West Park, Wise from Tamm to just east of Childress, and Clayton from just east of Childress to east of Graham.

2022 Schedule of Events for St. Patrick's Day in Dogtown

As you prepare to attend this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Irish Festival in Dogtown, take this opportunity to familiarize yourself with our schedule of events.

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

5:00 p.m. St. Patrick’s Day Vigil Mass

Thursday, March 17, 2022

All Day Volunteer Shifts

6:00 a.m. Street Closures Begin

6:00 a.m. Parking Restrictions Begin

8:00 a.m. Neighborhood Float Meets

9:00 a.m. Irish Festival Begins

11:00 a.m. Parade Begins

1:00 p.m. Live Music by Rusty Nail

6:00 p.m. Irish Festival Ends

8:00 p.m. Tamm Avenue Establishments Close

Friday, March 18, 2022

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Volunteer Shift

Parking in Dogtown for 2022 St. Patrick's Day

NO PARKING ZONES

For Dogtown residents and event visitors alike, be prepared for the following parking restrictions before and on St. Patrick’s Day this year.

A "No Parking" zone will be established along the parade route. Signs will be posted in No Parking areas several days before the event. The No Parking order will go into effect promptly at 6:00 a.m. on Thursday, March 17 and will not end until 10:00 p.m. Cars parked in this area will be ticketed and towed! If possible, avoid parking on the parade route on Wednesday night to avoid the hassle of moving your car early in the morning! 

Because we are ordering more dumpsters and portable toilets than ever before, deliveries of these items must begin on the Tuesday, March 15. Small 100-feet No Parking areas will be designated on every cross street of Tamm in both directions beginning Tuesday morning for equipment staging. Please excuse this inconvenience.

To depart the festival area: If you are parked to the west of Tamm, please depart the neighborhood heading west toward McCausland or Skinker. If you are parked east of Tamm, please depart heading east toward Hampton. Manchester will remain open throughout the day.

AVAILABLE PARKING

For event visitors who are still planning to park in Dogtown on St. Patrick’s Day, consider some of these locations that may be available.

The St. Louis Zoo will have their parking lots open for a fee. The large lot north of I-64 is accessible via Wells Drive westbound, using the traffic circle on Hampton Avenue. Please note, you cannot access this lot from eastbound on Welles via Skinker or the Tamm Avenue overpass due to street closures. The Zoo lots located off Oakland and Berthold will also be open. You can access these from Hampton either by going westbound down Oakland or westbound down Berthold.

The St. James the Greater Parish Park Lot is available for a fee, with access only from Tamm and Manchester between 6:00 and 9:00 a.m., and exiting allowed only after 3:00 p.m.

Parking is also available for a fee in the lots of the St. Louis Marketplace on the south side of Manchester. These parking lots are operated independently and are not affiliated with the Dogtown Irish Festival. 

Once these lots are full, please do not attempt to park on public streets within the festival area of the Dogtown neighborhood. These streets fill up with cars very early in the morning. Out of respect to local residents and to prevent traffic congestion, instead of parking locally, please consider arranging to get a ride to and from the festival.

RIDE HAILING

We will have a ride-hailing area for both cabs and ride-sharing services on Clayton near Crescent, in the Zoo’s Frog Lot.

The festival committee strongly encourages guests to get a ride to and from the festival, as parking will be very limited in the neighborhood. 

Keep in mind that cell-phone signals may be weak due to the crowd size. Please plan to walk two blocks to the east or west away from the festival area in order to hail a ride. Drivers will not be able to get close enough to pick you up near the festival area.