Top 5 St. Patrick's Day festivals in the U.S. and Canada

Revellers need not be Irish to enjoy North America's St. Patrick's Day festivals. These are the top five St. Patrick's Day festivals and parades in the U.S. and Canada. Which one will you choose?

New York City's St. Patrick's Day parade is the world's largest and oldest civilian parade in the world, dating back to 1762 when colonial Irish soldiers organized a celebratory march through the streets.

• Today, the parade regularly sees 150,000 marchers parading down 5th Avenue in front of more than two million spectators.

It is estimated that roughly 25 per cent of Massachusetts residents are of Irish descent, so it comes as no surprise that the state's capital, Boston, boasts one of the top St. Patrick's Day festivals in the world.

• The day is simultaneously celebrated as "Evacuation Day" in Boston to commemorate March 17, 1776, when the Continental Army's General Henry Knox, using both real cannons and trees cut and painted to look like cannons, intimidated the British Redcoats enough to abandon the city.
• The day is now celebrated with a parade and a variety of Irish cultural traditions and events throughout the city.

One of the most famous Irish celebrations, Chicago's St. Patrick's Day parade kicks off at 9:30 a.m. on the day of the parade when the city's Journeyman Plumber's Union dyes the Chicago river green.

• From there, tens of thousands of marchers parade in front of hundreds of thousands of attendees.
• In addition to the main parade, there is also the South Side Irish Parade, a smaller, family friendly affair geared more toward locals.

Perhaps an unlikely place for a St. Patrick's Day festival, Savannah's celebration is nonetheless one of the liveliest.

• More than 400,000 people regularly gather for the parade and a series of events in the city's historic district, including dyeing public fountains green, live Irish music, games, food and beverages.

Montreal's St. Patrick's Day parade is one of the oldest in North America.

• Despite war, the Great Depression and any type of weather, it has been held every year since 1824. The parade regularly draws 600,000 revellers and begins with a giant replica of St. Patrick at the start.
• From there, viewers enjoy marching bands, floats and other demonstrations of Irish heritage.

Many St. Patrick's Day traditions have survived nearly 200 years, and today are manifested in the lively and sometimes raucous festivals held all over North America.

Because the Irish heritage in the U.S. and Canada is so strong, these five festivals are by no means the only ones. Look around your own community and you're sure to find a St. Patrick's Day celebration, as well as children activities, close by.