The first recorded St Patrick Celebration in America happened here in 1600. The first St Patrick Parade in the world marched through these streets in 1601 — not Boston, not New York, not even Ireland. Saint Augustine. That history is the backbone of the Saint Augustine Celtic Music & Heritage Festival, now in its 15th year and produced by Romanza-St. Augustine, Inc. The parade kicks off festival weekend each March, winding through downtown before finishing at Francis Field, where three days of Celtic music, Highland Games, and whiskey tastings take over the bayfront.

The 2026 parade, held Saturday March 14, was one for the books. Grand Marshal Gordon J. Wilson — retired Superintendent of Castillo de San Marcos and Fort Matanzas National Monuments after nearly 50 years with the National Park Service — led the procession. Pipes and drums came from the City of Saint Augustine, Coastal Florida Police & Fire, the Parkview Lassies Scottish Drum & Bugle Corps from Springfield, Missouri, and — in a first — the FDNY Pipes & Drums, whose presence carried special weight: 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of September 11th.

And then there was the Saint Augustine Yacht Club.

In their first year ever entering the parade, SAYC took first place. They brought two elaborately decorated sailboats and something no one else had — a handmade Dragon Boat. Stella Hayes, a member of the Salt Run Flyers Dragon Team, built the boat herself and crafted the dragon's head and tail by hand. More than 50 club members paddled it along the parade route on dry land, while the crowd supplied the waves. It worked. The judges agreed.

Learn more about SAYC at sayc.club

Event photos by Yvette Monell & SAYC

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