Events: There will be numerous events occurring around the city this weekend in celebration of St. Patrick's Day including Friday's The Royal Exchange's 34th Annual St. Patrick's Day Block Party on Front Street in the Financial District. Celebrate St. Patrick's Day on Sunday with morning bagpipes, Irish stew and soda bread at Farley's 30th Anniversary Party in Potrero Hill, the 45th Avenue Block Party hosted by the United Irish Cultural Center. Saturday, of course, will feature the annual parade downtown, and those who are more interested in welcoming Springtime to the area can check out the Holi Color Festival near Mission Bay. Read more about our featured events below.
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St. Patrick's Day Parade
Saturday, Begins at 11:30 a.m.
Downtown/Civic Center
With an attendance expectation of more than 100,000 people, the San Francisco St. Patrick's Day Parade is one of the largest in the world. This Saturday will be its 168th year of celebrating the Irish holiday. The parade will begin at Second and Market streets at 11:30 AM, making its way along Market toward the Civic Center. Unlike in previous years, there will be no festival at the Civic Center upon the conclusion of the parade.
How to Get There on Muni: Parade attendees may take any Muni Metro line, the F Market and Wharves Line, any Market Street bus route as well as the T Third Street bus shuttle route, 3 Jackson, 8 Bayshore, 10 Townsend, 12 Folsom/Pacific, 14 Mission, 14R Mission Rapid, 19 Polk, 27 Bryant, 30 Stockton, 45 Union/Stockton, 47 Van Ness, or 49 Van Ness/Mission to various locations along the parade route between Second and Market streets and Civic Center.
Muni Service Notes: The F, 2 Clement, 5 Fulton, 6, Haight/Parnassus, 7 Haight/Noriega, 8 Bayshore, 9 San Bruno, 10, 12, 19, 21 Hayes, 27, 30, 31 Balboa, 38 Geary, 38R Geary Rapid and 45 will have reroutes during this event. All routes in Northeast San Francisco and SoMa may experience minor delays and increased ridership as a result of the parade.
Holi: A Festival of Color
Saturday, 12 to 4 p.m.
Mission Bay
After a long, wet winter, the time has finally come to prepare for the birth of the Spring season. You can do just that this Saturday at the California College of the Arts near Mission Bay during the annual Holi Festival. Holi is an ancient springtime Hindu festival that celebrates the color and vitality of the season, in part, by having participants partake in a color fight representative of the vibrancy of springtime colors. In addition to the chance to turn yourself or others into a walking rainbow, there will be food trucks, dance performances and a DJ to keep the party rolling throughout the afternoon.
How to Get There on Muni: Riders may take the 10 Townsend, 19 Polk, 22 Fillmore, or the 55 16th Street routes to near the California College of the Arts SF campus.
Muni Service Notes: There are no planned service changes for this event, however, routes in the area may see increased ridership and lots of color-coated folks after the event.
Remember that you can take Muni for the entire day for a single $5 fare. The new $5 Day Pass, available on MuniMobile®, is part of Muni’s recent fare changes. The pass is intended to encourage a safe, convenient way to pay your fare and quickly board Muni vehicles, which reduces overall travel time for everyone. The $5 Day Pass is Muni bus, rail and historic streetcars only.
“On Tap” gives you a heads up about the big events in town and what Muni routes and lines will get you to the party. Look for this feature to be posted usually on Thursdays for a look ahead to the weekend. Check out our Weekend Traffic & Transit Advisory for more details.