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Headed to Savannah for St. Patricks Day?
Some pointers on how to handle what could the citys largest celebration ever
Road Closures 3-16-2012
Road closures for Friday from the SCMPD.
Staff Report
Updated: Mar 16, 2012, 1:46 AM
Published: Mar 16, 2012, 1:51 AM

On River Street and entertainment:

St. Patrick’s Celebration on the River will be Friday from 10 a.m.-12 a.m./3 a.m. (food and beverage stations) and Saturday from 8 a.m.-12 a.m./3 a.m. (food and beverage stations). The City of Savannah has declared the entire event a Wristband-free zone. River Street is expected to be re-opened Sunday. Savannah Belle’s Ferries will maintain their regular hours of service increasing frequency during peak times. dottie, the River Street streetcar, will not run during the festival. River Street public parking lots will reopen Sunday afternoon. Extended hours of service: 2:55 a.m. closing for bars/restaurants (formerly 1 a.m.). There will be multiple Savannah Riverfront beverage stations in the festival zone. Coke products and Bud Light, Yuengling and other varieties of draft malt beverages will be available. There will be six food vendors (three local) and The Nutty Bavarian within in the control zone to meet the needs of the o’masses! Free public portable toilets will be located in City Parking Lot No’s. 1 and 3 (Barnard Ramp and Lincoln Ramp). Royal Restrooms will be onsite in two locations - $5 stamp per day guarantees clean facilities.  A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Boys and Girls Club of the Coastal Empire. The best entertainment in town is always on River Street!  Enjoy non-stop people-watching along with 30 hours of high energy rock-your-green-socks-off fun by DJ’s-to-Go on the Arbor Stage and more live music than you can shake your shillelagh at in the various pubs and restaurants along the street! Prepare yourself to hear the Seaforth and District All Girls Band from Huron County, Ontario, Canada at 4 p.m. on Friday and the Second Time Arounders Marching Band on March 17 at 3p.m.  Of course the sounds of various pipe, fife and drum corps will fill the air as they parade up and down historic River Street throughout the event!

 

 

Live Entertainment Venues on the Riverfront!

 

Bayou Café

March 16 1pm-3pm    Don Coyer

    3pm-5pm    Paul Rader

    5pm -9pm   Fig Neutrons

    9pm -3am   Majic Rocks w/ Thomas Claxton

March 17 1pm -3pm   Don Coyer

    3pm-5pm   Paul Rader

    5pm-9pm   Hitman Blues Band

                                                                9pm-3am   Thomas Claxton Band

March 18 9pm- close  Don Coyer

 

            Bernie’s Oyster Bar

March 16        Karaoke

March 17        Karaoke

 

            Hyatt Regency Savannah

March 16 5pm-3am   DJ Diamond Dave

March 17 5pm-3am   DJ Diamond Dave

 

                                                Kevin Barry’s

                                    March 16 2:00p.m – 3:00p.m

                                    March 17 12:00p.m – 1:00a.m

Entertainment – Carol Brown and Seldom Sober

 

            Live Wire Music Hall

 

March 16 4pm - 7pm                 Jubal Kane

                7pm - 930pm             TBA

               10pm - 10:30pm         Killin Thyme

               11pm - Close             Same as it Ever Was:A Tribute to The Talking Heads

March 17 2pm - 4pm                 Jubal Kane

                                                    4pm - 7pm                The Trainwrecks            

                                                    7pm - 9pm                Jubal Kane                   

                                                   9pm - 11pm               Kota Mundi                  

                                                   11pm - Close             Passafire

 

            Rocks on the Roof

March 16 & 17           DJ

 

Tubby’s Tankhouse

                                    March 18 Dinner      Jason & Jared


This year the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Savannah will be held Saturday with a traditional start time of 10:15 a.m., following celebration of Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.

Savannah began celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in 1813 with a private gathering of the Hibernian Society, a group of Irish Protestants. The first public parade was in 1824. Growing steadily in the 189 years since, Savannah now hosts the second-largest St. Patrick’s Day celebration in the U.S., attracting over 300,000 visitors from around the world. Saturday’s parade and festivities are expected to draw more than 750,000 visitors to the Hostess City.

The parade begins at the corner of Gwinnett and Abercorn, and makes its way north on Abercorn to Broughton, where it turns east to East Broad Street. The parade turns north on East Broad and then heads west on Bay, past City Hall, where it takes a left on Bull Street, ending at Harris Street.

The Savannah Waterfront Association hosts a festival along the waterfront, including River Street from East Broad Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Festivities include games, food, beverages, and live entertainment. The event is free. For more information, visit www.riverstreetsavannah.com.

River Street will be closed to traffic throughout the festival. The parade route will be closed to traffic beginning Saturday at 7 a.m and lasting through 2 p.m. Bay Street will be closed during the Parade. Vehicles will not be allowed on Bay during these times.

If you’re looking for a place to view the parade, get downtown early, as positions along the route tend to fill up early. Keep in mind that provisions must be maintained to get emergency equipment into any area should the need arise. Parade viewers should not step into the roadways until they are closed to vehicular traffic at their designated times. Parade viewers should position themselves behind the French barricades.

Parade patrons will not be allowed to set up in parks and squares until 6 a.m. Saturday. The only furniture allowed in squares are tables, coolers, lawn chairs and 10-by-10-foot tents. The following are among the items not allowed in squares and parks: grills, amplified sound, scaffolding, advertisements, barriers, bartenders and private security.

All material should be removed from the square by 6 p.m. the day of the parade. The use of city electricity and water is prohibited.

Before parking, be sure that you are legally parked, and not obstructing any roads or driveways, especially around the squares and areas near the parade route. Understand that this will be Savannah’s most populated day of the year and parking will be at a premium, so be careful where you park. Parking Services and Savannah-Chatham Metro Police officers will be ensuring that the roadways are open and unobstructed. Illegally parked cars will be ticketed. Vehicles that obstruct any roadway will be ticketed and towed at the owners’ expense.

Do not move barricades or remove "no parking" bags. Savannah-Chatham Metro Police said the vehicle will be towed and you will incur both towing and storage fees.

To manage crowds and increase pedestrian safety, SCMPD is announcing that Bay Street will be closed to through traffic intermittently after 6 p.m.-4 a.m. today through Saturday. Also, parking on Bay Street, and the public and private parking spaces north of Bay Street, will be restricted beginning at 3 p.m. today and all day Saturday. Additionally, Bay Street will be closed to vehicular traffic Saturday from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Parking for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade will be available at the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center beginning at 7 a.m. and ending at 3 p.m. on Saturday for a fee of $10 per vehicle, including a round trip on the water ferry for all vehicle passengers. The Trade Center Parking Lot will not admit vehicles after 3 p.m. Saturday.

The water ferry will run beginning from Savannah International Trade & Convention Center at 7:10 a.m. until midnight for convenience of Trade Center and Westin guests.

The parking garages in downtown Savannah will operate as follows:

Bryan Street — Open 24 hours today-Sunday

Liberty Street — Open 24 hours today-Saturday, closes 5 p.m. Sunday

Robinson — Open 24 hours today-Saturday, closes 1 a.m. Sunday

State Street — Open 24 hours today-Saturday, closes 1 a.m. Sunday

Whitaker Street — Open 24 hours today-Sunday

AAA and Bud Light are extending Tow-to-Go through Saturday. Call 1-800-AAA-HELP (1-800-222-4357). AAA will take the impaired owner and his vehicle home at no charge, and AAA membership not required.

AAA and Bud Light also will bring the Green Team to the celebration through Sunday. AAA technicians on Segways will assist motorists who have locked their keys inside their vehicle, have a flat or need a jump because of a dead battery. Call 1-877-222-7111 for assistance. Again, there is no charge and AAA membership is not required.
Savannah, Richmond Hill, Tybee ready for July 4 celebrations
Placeholder Image
Staff Report
Updated: Jul 1, 2016, 8:36 PM
Published: Jun 29, 2016, 7:10 PM

The Savannah Waterfront Association will hold its annual 4th of July celebration, including fireworks, Monday on River Street from 4-10 p.m.

VIP seating for viewing fireworks will be available for active and retired military and will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Hypnotics will perform from 8-10 p.m., including a patriotic set during the fireworks to complement the show.

The fireworks sponsored at 9:30 p.m. Guests are encouraged to park off of River Street since the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department will close the street from 6 p.m.-3 a.m.

Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police are gearing up for this weekend’s July 4th and First Friday festivities; and ask the public to be mindful of traffic conditions in the Downtown area.

In anticipation of potential road delays, Metro will increase traffic and foot patrols in the Downtown festival area, starting Friday afternoon. Officers also will patrol Hutchinson Island in greater force to assist with traffic flow, prevent bottle-necking and help move motorists safely. To ensure safety and help minimize delays, motorists are asked to be vigilant, patient and co-operative.

Public parking lots on River Street will close on Monday at about 3 a.m. until early Tuesday afternoon. River Street will close to vehicular traffic Monday at 3 p.m. and will reopen early Tuesday morning.

All traffic and parking laws will be enforced on in Downtown Savannah and Hutchinson Island. Vehicles parked in the roadway, or in a manner that obstructs traffic will be towed at the owner’s expense. Please note that parking vehicles on the Truman Parkway and Talmadge Bridge also is dangerous and illegal.

Interstate 16 will be available to drivers leaving the firework show. To leave Downtown, traffic originating from points beyond Bay Street will be directed away from Martin Luther King Boulevard to other routes, such as Whitaker and West Bay streets. Westbound traffic on Bay Street will be directed to East Lathrop Avenue to access I-16 via Louisville Road.

Police recommend use of city parking garages, where drivers will be given maps for the easiest Downtown exit routes following the firework display. Motorists are encouraged to plan ahead, expect delays and heed posted signage. The key components of the traffic plan include:

Prohibiting traffic from turning southbound onto Whitaker from Bay. Westbound traffic on Bay Street will be directed to alternate routes to I-16 through East Lathrop and Louisville Road, or through Garden City.

Parking garage traffic will be routed southbound on MLK, Whitaker and Price streets.

Alternate routes to I-16 are West Gwinnett and 37th streets. Price Street also can be used to get to 37th Street, which will take traffic to westbound I-16.

Additional signage will be deployed to assist drivers in locating the alternative routes to I-16.

Traffic may be heavy along Highway 80 for those leaving Tybee Island’s fireworks display. There is a slight potential for shallow coastal flooding due to King Tides July 4.  At this time, this flooding is not expected to close Highway 80. Remember if there is shallow coastal flooding:

Traffic headed toward Wilmington Island via President Street should flow as usual.

Also please remember that the city curfew law remains in effect for this event.  All persons 16 years of age and under must be off the streets at 11 p.m. unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Officers will be enforcing this ordinance.

As always you can stay up to date with the latest on the Festival, road closures and other related updates by following the Twitter feed @SCMPD, Facebook or www.scmpd.org.

Richmond Hill will host 4th of July events Saturday, starting with Star Spangled Cars and Coffee from 9-11 a.m. Car owners can bring in a car and interact with other automobile enthusiasts. Visitors can bring the family to view the cars and tour the Richmond Hill History Museum, formerly the Henry Ford Kindergarten. Admission to the event is free and coffee can be purchased for 25 cents with a $1 donation to the museum. This event will take place at the Richmond Hill History Museum located at 11460 Ford Ave. 

Fort McAllister will hold its 4th of July celebration Saturday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. with living history programs including demonstrations of Civil War drills and rifle and cannon firings. Visitors can participate in old fashioned games including sack races, an egg toss, wheel barrow races and a Civil War-era baseball game. Fresh watermelon will be available.  Admission for this event is $8 per adult (18+), $5 per Youth (6-17), under 6 are free. For more information, call (912) 727-2339.

Richmond Hill will kick off its annual Red, White, and Blue Independence Day Celebration at J. F. Gregory Park located at 521 Cedar St. For more information, visit www.richmondhill-ga.gov or call (912) 756-3345.

Tybee Island changed the date of their annual  fireworks from Sunday, July 3 to Monday, July 4. The Independence Day celebration will held be at the Tybee Island Pier and Pavilion with a fireworks extravaganza. It will be held from 9:30-10 p.m.