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.