Changes are Coming For Rockford's 2022 St. Patrick's Celebration

In some ways, it's hard to believe that the COVID-19 pandemic kicked into high gear two years ago. Don't get me wrong, it's been a LOOONG two years of constantly changing mandates, closures, and updates, but it seems like just yesterday that we all wondering if Rockford's 2020 St. Patrick's Parade and PaddyFest would be able to happen. I think we all know how that story ended back in 2020, but in 2022, there will be finally be gold at the end of the rainbow!

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Rockford's St. Patrick's Parade is a GO for 2022

Dust off those 'kiss me I'm Irish' shirts and green beads because the Irish Marching Society's St. Patrick's Parade and PaddyFest is making their triumphant comeback on Saturday, March 12, 2022, in Downtown Rockford!

Here's everything you need to know before you go:

The St. Patrick's Parade will begin at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 12th from the BMO parking lot at 7th Street and 5th Avenue in Downtown Rockford. (click here to see the parade route)
PaddyFest at Prairie Street Brewhouse will begin following the parade at 4 p.m. and will feature lots of Irish food, music, and fun until 7:30 p.m.
The Rock River will be dyed green at 5 p.m. and will be visible anywhere downstream from Prairie Street Brewhouse.

What's New for PaddyFest 2022?

Illinois mask mandates may now be lifted, but continued health concerns have caused a few changes for PaddyFest this year. Everyone who wants to enter the rooms at Prairie Street that feature specific Irish food and music will need to purchase a $10 wristband, (kids 12 and under are free), but Prairie Street's main bar and other areas will still be available for those that do not want to pay the PaddyFest admission fee. There will also be no Kids Room this year at PaddyFest, but don't worry, there will still be a ton of Irish fun up for grabs for lads and lassies of all ages!

Tickets for 2022 PaddyFest at Prairie Street are available for purchase now at irishmarchingsociety.com, and you can still register to march in the 2022 Parade, here.

PLACES YOU'LL FIND CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE NEAR AROUND ROCKFORD

Here a few notable places you will find corned beef and cabbage in and around Rockford

LOOK: Best Beers From Every State

To find the best beer in each state and Washington D.C., Stacker analyzed January 2020 data from BeerAdvocate, a website that gathers user scores for beer in real-time. BeerAdvocate makes its determinations by compiling consumer ratings for all 50 states and Washington D.C. and applying a weighted rank to each. The weighted rank pulls the beer toward the list's average based on the number of ratings it has and aims to allow lesser-known beers to increase in rank. Only beers with at least 10 rankings to be considered; we took it a step further to only include beers with at least 100 user rankings in our gallery. Keep reading to find out what the best beer is in each of the 50 states and Washington D.C.