Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade To Be Aired on TV Live, Repeated Several Times

OCEAN CITY — While the masses will line Coastal Highway for the Delmarva Irish-American Club’s 35th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade next month, thousands more will have the opportunity to watch the popular event live on television for the first time ever.

The DIAC and local NBC affiliate WRDE announced on Tuesday this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Ocean City, set for Saturday, March 12, will be broadcast live on parade day and again throughout the week including a marathon on actual St. Patrick’s Day on March 17. Mayor Rick Meehan., president of the DIAC, and WRDE President and General Manager Bob Backman made the announcement on Tuesday morning at City Hall.

“This is an exciting time for us,” said Meehan. “We have our 35th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade coming up and we’re very excited to announce that this year’s parade will be broadcast live.”

From modest beginnings in 1980, when the fledgling DIAC first conceived the idea of a St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Ocean City, the annual event has grown to become the second largest of its kind in Maryland. Just a few vehicles and a handful of participants marched down Coastal Highway in that very first parade, but the event now includes around 125 entries.

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