The 2025 Downtown Billings St. Patrick’s Day Celebration, presented by our Downtown Billings organization together with Hooligan’s Sports Bar, takes place on Saturday, March 15th on the downtown streets below Skypoint. The festivities are free and open to the public from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. The celebration is three-fold and includes Billings’ 42nd St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the Celtic Fair, and the Hooligan’s Street Party.
The Celtic Fair begins at 10:00 am with various craft vendors, face painting, festive green swag sales, balloon art, food trucks, live entertainment, and more. The parade and Street Party both kick off at 11:00 am. This year’s parade includes over forty entries. Each entry is created by individual local businesses, organizations, and community groups for the festive event. The Eugene Sara Detachment, United States Marine Corp League will once again set the pace at the very front of the parade as honor guard.
Judging the parade floats from Skypoint this year will be team members from our St. Patrick’s Day Event sponsors: The Zone 96.3, Planet 106.7, & Classic Hits, My 105.9 (Desert Media Broadcasting), Heenan & Cook, TDS Fiber, Valley Credit Union, and Mari Mint. The judging categories include: Best Entry Overall, Best Float, Best Musical Entry, Best Costume, Best Representation of the Holiday, Best Performers, and Most Original Entry.
Billings Caledonian Pipes and Drummers on N. Broadway in the 2024 parade. Photography by Amy Nelson of Billings.
The Celtic Fair and Street Party festivities ramp-up on the streets below Skypoint upon the conclusion of the 11:00 am parade. The Street Party on N. Broadway will come alive at noon with an outdoor concert from local cover band, Repeat Offenders.
Event goers can enjoy even more local live entertainment starting at 12:00 pm on the Celtic Fair stage, on 2nd Avenue N. just East of Skypoint. The Celtic Fair stage entertainment includes Irish dancers from the Claddagh Irish Dance Academy followed by Celtic musicians from the Slainte Traditional Irish Music Session at 1:30 pm.
Additionally, there are various post-parade vendors and activities for all ages that will pop-up in the event closure once the 11:00 am parade concludes. The following post-parade activities are free for all ages to enjoy from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm:
- Midway Auto RV Leprechaun Hunt
- YMCA Activity Zone (Cornhole, Basketball bucket shoot, Dumbbell lift challenge and more…)
- Special Olympics Billings Thunder (fun activities and fundraising efforts)
- Mini Golf sponsored by TDS Fiber
Public Safety remains priority Number One
This free community event is coordinated by us through the Downtown Billings’s Business Improvement District (BID). Public safety is the number one priority for the BID and a top priority of our organization as a whole, we would like the community to remember the following:
- DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH THE ROAD BARRICADES Type III road closure barricades are placed across streets to stop vehicle traffic from entering. The placement of the barricades are to keep all staff, volunteers, participants, and attendees safe throughout the event.
- PARADE “NO HANDOUT” POLICY: Parade entries are not permitted to pass out candy or any sort of handout from the parade route. Read the full Parade Safety message HERE for details and clarification of this policy.
The safety issues addressed in this policy include, but are not limited to:- A concerning narrowing of the parade route as a result of spectators of all ages entering the road during the parade, often pushing inward in excitement of items being handed or tossed from the floats/parade participants.
- Spectators crossing the parade route, during large gaps in the parade created by floats slowing their pace to keep up with their walkers who are distributing items to the crowd.
- An increase in litter left in the parade’s wake became a growing issue for Downtown Billings businesses. An issue that increased pressure on already limited resources.