HARTFORD -- The 48th Annual Greater Hartford St. Patrick’s Day Parade starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday, and local restaurants are gearing up for some early guests.
The parade starts at 11 a.m. at the State Capitol and ends at the Memorial Arch. Before marching begins, local restaurants will open up at 8.a.m. That includes Vaughan’s in downtown Hartford. Johnny Vaughan said this past week he has had large orders of food, beer, wine and liquor. His restaurant will stay open until the last person leaves.
“We’ll be full starting at 9 o’clock in the morning,” said Vaughan.
Vaughan expects to have between 600 and 800 guests on Saturday.
“I think everybody’s wearing green tomorrow and everybody’s gonna come in and do some cheers for St. Paddy’s day,” he said.
On Friday evening, Vaughan welcomed guests who traveled all the way from Dublin, Ireland for the celebrations.
“We’re pretty excited to be here,” said Carl Breen of Dublin. “It’s a nice little city. We’re enjoying it.”
“Everybody’s great here,” said Karl Dorman of Dublin.
The Dublin locals will participate in a soccer match and march in the parade.
As the excitement brews, the Hartford Police Department is getting ready to patrol.
“We get better and better at this every year,” said Lieutenant Paul Cicero of the Hartford Police Department.
Cicero said the department reviews reports from previous years, and that is how they find out where they need to station more officers.
“In regards to the safety of the community, obviously that’s paramount,” he said. “The people that come here, the people that live here, the people that play here, the people that work here.”
There will be many road closures throughout the city. They include:
At 9:30 a.m.:
Capitol Avenue between Broad Street and Washington Street
Hungerford Street between Capitol Avenue and Russ Street
Oak Street between Capitol Avenue and Russ Street
Washington Street between Capitol Avenue and Buckingham Street
Trinity Street entire length Capitol Avenue exit ramp from I-84 East
At 10:40 a.m.:
Capitol Avenue between Broad Street and Main Street
Main Street between Buckingham Street and Church Street
Asylum Street between Main Street and Spruce Street
Ford Street entire length Conlin Whitehead Highway @ Columbus Blvd. Exit (exit ramp will be open)
If you are unable to attend the parade, you can watch it all happen live on CW20 starting at 11 a.m.