Three Great Ways to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Tennessee

Credit: Toby Sells

Maybe it goes back to the state’s early Irish settlers. Maybe we love the pageantry of a good parade, especially one with bagpipes and kilts. Maybe all the green is a herald of the returning spring on the horizon. Maybe we just like a good reason for a good time.

Whatever the reason, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated widely throughout Tennessee. There are gatherings, parades, and parties in nearly every corner of the state. Here we’ve rounded up eight of the best events celebrating all things Irish.

Erin

63rd Annual Irish

Celebration

multiple locations

March 15, 2025

It seems every day is St. Patrick’s Day in Erin.

The city’s name, as the legend says, “comes as the hills and creeks reminded the Irish of their native Ireland and named their town Erin.” The city’s logo is a shamrock. As is the logo for the Houston County Chamber Commerce, which hosts the town’s Annual Irish Celebration.

As far as we can tell, Erin’s seems to be the oldest continually held St. Patrick’s Day celebration in Tennessee. The tradition goes back to 1963 from founders O.S. Luton and Beverly Price to honor Tennessee’s rich Irish history and traditions. What started as a small “Wearing of the Green” event has become an annual, week-long celebration and festival.

Last year’s celebration included a week of music, a golf tournament, a bass tournament, Irish food, a carnival, a 5K, a beer garden, and at all lead up to the parade on Saturday morning and a dance that evening.

Downtown Knoxville

Knox St. Patrick’s Parade

March 15, 2025

St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Knoxville stretch back to the 1850s. By 1869, there was a city-sanctioned parade.

“It was a celebration with Fenians marching in green jackets and red caps followed by a brass band and a color guard carrying banners with the motto ’God Save Ireland,’” according to Knox St. Patrick’s Parade.

The parade came and went over the years. But If you’ve been near Knoxville in early March, you know the Knox St. Patrick’s Parade is back and bigger than ever. The parade included more than 50 floats, bands, clubs, and more along a 1.1-mile Downtown stretch with nearly 5,000 in attendance.

Memphis

52nd Annual Silky Sullivan St. Patrick’s Parade

Date: TBD

Beale Street is the heart of St. Patrick’s Day in Memphis. That heart’s core is Silky O’Sullivan’s bar and restaurant “where every day is St. Patrick’s Day.” (A bit of Erin in West Tennessee, maybe?)

The massive, mostly family friendly parade is filled with marching bands, floats, and social krewes and runs right down Beale Street, usually on the afternoon of St. Patrick’s Day. The rowdier evening festivities kick off with the “raising of the goat” tradition followed by the “blessing of the keg.”

If you’re looking for a smaller, quieter affair, look for the St. Pat’s Parade in Cooper-Young.