South Bend prepares for St. Patrick's Day celebrations

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- This weekend, thousands of people across Michiana will celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

On Saturday, the city of South Bend will hold its annual St. Patrick's Day parade. The parade kicks off at 11 a.m. on Jefferson Blvd. and Frances St. in the East Bank Village. The route will head west on Jefferson then turn north on Niles toward Washington St. 

Local businesses and organizations will display their Irish spirit with floats. 

Immediately after the parade, the greening of the East Race River will happen at Seitz Park. 

Both of these events are free and open to the public. 

This year, local law enforcement agencies also hope to lower the number of dangerous driving incidents during St. Patrick's Day. This weekend last year had the highest number of crashes involving impaired drivers. 

To stop this from happening again, the St. Joseph County Traffic Safety Partnership partnered with law enforcement agencies across Indiana. On Saturday, police are conducting driving patrols, random patrols, saturation patrols, and sobriety checkpoints intended to make roads safer. In every state, it is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher.  

“If you’re watching March Madness or celebrating St. Patrick’s Day from a bar or pub, draft a sober driver, cab or ridesharing service to get home safely,” said Lt. Tim Williams. “Our officers are trained to spot – and there will be zero tolerance for – impaired and dangerous drivers.”