Salt Lake City celebrates 47th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Siamsa

SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City celebrated its annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Siamsa on Saturday at the Gateway.

People attending the event were able to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day a couple days early, starting with a parade at 11 a.m.

Delaney Carlson walked the parade with her two-and-a-half-year-old dog named Lupyne. The two were walking to advertise for Kudos 2 Canines, a dog training class.

“We’ve been in the parade several times, (Lupyne) loves it, she loves just going to say hi to all the people,” Carlson said.

The celebration didn’t end there. After the parade ended, the public gathered in the Gateway to watch dancers perform and dance to Irish music. 

Amanda Woolston was at the St. Patrick’s Day event to watch her 16-year-old daughter Kylee dance. Woolston said Kylee started dancing when she was five, she was part of the advanced group at the Siamsa and has been performing at the event for about 10 years.

“(The dancers) worked really hard for this,” Woolston said. “All of the groups that are dancing here today are three performance groups from the (Rise Academy of Dance) school.”

The dancers started practicing for the performance about a month and a half ago. Woolston said most of the dancers spent about an hour and half at the studio two to three times a week practicing for the event.

“I think it’s awesome that you get so much of the Irish tradition out there and that people are so involved in their roots,” Woolston said. “I really enjoyed it.”

According to Woolston, her dad has Irish in him, giving her family another reason to celebrate at the Siamsa.

“My dad has Irish in him, his grandmother was Irish,” Woolston said. “Usually our celebration is coming to the parade and doing this. By the end of doing school groups and the Siamsa parade, we’re kind of tired so usually St. Patrick’s Day is kind of like, you know we have baked potatoes and listen to Irish music.”

Hilary Lambert came to the Siamsa with her friends to celebrate with their kids, who were in the parade and look forward to the celebration every year. She said the event made for a great place to socialize.

“This grassy area in front of the main stage is so much fun, because the kids can run and play, the grown ups can socialize, everybody can enjoy the music, it’s really fun,” Lambert said.

This year’s Siamsa experienced cloudy skies with some cold winds and temperatures that ranged from 35 degrees Fahrenheit to 52 degrees, but that didn’t keep anyone away from the fun.

“I mean, it’s Utah, so we’re pretty used to spring being, like, snowy and 20 degrees or sunny and 65,” Lambert said. “I think today it was all of those things, and so yeah, our kids put on their Irish dresses and their snow boots and are having a blast.”

This was the Gateway’s fourth year hosting the Siamsa, and the 47th anniversary for the celebration itself.

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Salt Lake City celebrates St. Patrick’s Day