By Nicole Fleming GLOBE CORRESPONDENT MARCH 19, 2017
Despite cloudy skies and a bit of snow, thousands are expected to line the streets of South Boston for Sundays' 116th annual St. Patrick’s Day parade.
The parade, a source of pride and of controversy for Southie, is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. It typically draws a diverse crowd clad in emerald green, from longtime South Boston residents to tourists, ranging in age from wide-eyed children to college students to the elderly.
Officials said on Thursday that this year’s parade will follow a shortened route due to safety concerns about the snow.
The parade will kick off from Broadway Station and follow West and East Broadway, but will now end at Farragut Road instead of turning around and heading toward Old Colony Avenue.
Festivities begin earlier Sunday morning in Boston with the annual St. Patrick’s Day breakfast, a private event full of often painfully bad jokes from Massachusetts politicians, held at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
State Senator Linda Dorcena Forry, who represents South Boston, hosts the event for the fourth year in a row.
Last year, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh got in touch with his inner Adele, spoofing her “Hello” music video by depicting himself and Governor Charlie Baker in a bromance, while Forry led her colleagues in the “Whip” and the “Nae Nae” dance moves.
The weather forecast on Sunday morning called for a dusting of snow, though accumulation is expected to be minimal, according to the National Weather Service.
It will not likely amount to more than a coating in Boston, said Benjamin Sipprell, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton. Forecasters anticipate cloudy skies for the city with highs from 34 to 37 degrees, he said.
Worden Hall, a West Broadway tavern located across the street from Broadway Station, is expecting a huge crowd despite — and because of — the weather.
Last year, “A lot of people braved the cold for 45 minutes, saw some of the parade, and ran back inside,” said managing partner Dan Henn. “That’s the good thing about having a bar: We always warm everybody up.”
As usual, hundreds of marchers, bands, and floats will participate in the parade — and also as usual, there was controversy over who the line-up would include.
OUTVETS, a group of LGBT veterans, plan to march after a longstanding battle was briefly reignited between parade organizers and the group. After the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council voted to bar OUTVETS from marching, public figures including Walsh, Baker, and Senator Edward Markey threatened to pull out, as well as some corporate sponsors.
Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson, who is running for mayor, had said he will not march even if OUTVETS accepted the invitation. Forry had also announced that she would not march, but then said she was undecided.
Neither Jackson nor Forry could be reached for comment Saturday.
Veterans for Peace, an international group that bills itself as “dedicated to building a culture of peace, exposing the true costs of war, and healing the wounds of war,” said they have been barred from marching.
The group will assemble at 524 East Broadway in silent protest during the parade, according to a statement by Veterans for Peace.
The standard traffic issues for the parade are expected to be exacerbated this year due to the annual St. Patrick’s Day Road Race taking place in the area beforehand, from 11 a.m. to noon.
Authorities strongly discourage anyone from driving to the parade. Streets along the parade route will be closed from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and streets along the race route will be closed temporarily as runners pass through, according to a statement by Boston police.
The MBTA encourages parade attendees to board any Red Line train to South Station, Broadway Station, or Andrew Station, with the asterisk that “trains will frequently bypass Broadway Station due to heavy crowds and public safety concerns.”
Spectators are advised to plan for an alternate parade-viewing sites other than around Broadway Station.
