Community Corner

St. Patrick's Day Parades in NYC & Elsewhere

With St. Patrick's Day coming on Monday, March 17, you can hop on a train to see the green extravaganza in New York City or drive to a more local celebration this weekend -- just remember to wear green!

You can find all sorts of information on Irish celebrations and events in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey on the Irish Echo website.

For information on taking the train into New York City, scroll further down this article. In Connecticut, you can see these St. Patrick's parades:

  • New London -- 1 p.m., Sunday, March 16 -- information from The Day of New London


New York City Parade


The St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York is the oldest in the country, organizers claim on the official parade website, with an annual tradition going back to March 17, 1762.

If you're not going to stand outside to watch the parade yourself, you can go to the website for a live video stream of the event.

Here's the line of march for the 2014 parade (which might be handy to have on your cell phone.

TAKING THE TRAIN TO NEW YORK

The Metro-North schedules page.

Here's a Metro-North's announcement with information and tips on taking the train to Manhattan and back on Monday:


On St. Patrick's Day, Monday, March 17, Metro-North will operate regular Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Line weekday schedules. Additionally, a number of service changes will be in place because of anticipated higher ridership.

Note: On Monday, March 17, alcohol will not be allowed all day on trains, platforms and at stations to maintain orderly travel for customers. (Any alcoholic beverages found by MTA Police on trains, stations and platforms will be confiscated by MTA Police.)

Metro-North is the best way to get to the festivities--the parade begins at 11 a.m. and starts a convenient two blocks away from Grand Central Terminal at 44th Street.

Service changes and travel tips

Here are some additional service changes/travel tips for this day:

• We encourage regular customers (non-parade goers) to plan for very crowded trains and, if possible, shift travel plans accordingly.

--Coming into NYC, the best times to travel is on trains arriving Grand Central before 8:30 a.m., or arriving after 12 Noon.

--Going home, the busiest trains will be departing Grand Central between 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

• Additional equipment/cars will be at the ready to supplement inbound and outbound service on an "as needed" basis to help accommodate travelers.

We strongly urge ALL our customers to buy their roundtrip rail tickets before boarding at ticket machines and ticket offices. The costs for tickets purchased on board trains are significantly higher.

See our schedules page for all train times.

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day at Home?


RECIPES:

St. Patrick's Day Corned Beef: 1 Traditional Meal Cooked 2 Ways

Classic Corned Beef And Cabbage For St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day Fruit Rainbow with a 'Pot of Gold'

CRAFTS:

Coloring Carnations Green for St. Patrick's Day

5 Fun Ideas to Get Your Kids in the St. Patrick's Day Spirit


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