Gallery • 4 Photos

On March 19th, if you were near Kungstrӓdgården you may have seen a large mass of people wearing lots of green or heard the sound of Irish bagpipes playing in harmony to the singing of traditional Irish songs. If you saw this scene, you were witnessing the St. Patrick’s parade and festival put together by the Swedish-Irish Society, as well as the Embassy of Ireland in Sweden. 

The day was filled with food, music, dancing, and loads of laughter. All the events were accompanied by all types of music playing from the stage, featuring a variety of performers: from classic guitar bands to harpists to traditional Irish dancers. At the merchandise stations, everything from green beanie hats to large Irish flag capes was being sold. Kids had access to many fun crafts and face painting. In addition, throughout the whole day, volunteers went around passing out balloons, shamrock stickers, spraying peoples’ hair green, and directing kids over to the craft tables. The main feature of the event was, of course, the parade. It was accompanied by the wonderful performance of the Stockholm Pipe Band. If you wanted to participate, you would have walked the picturesque route from Kungsträdgården through Sergels Torg and Sveavägen all the way to Kungsan. Those who decided to stay behind at the main scene could rest and get lunch from one of the many food courts in the area.

At the beginning of the event, the Irish and Ukrainian ambassadors gave opening speeches on the main stage. They thanked the people for coming, as well as informed those attending the celebration that all of the profits would be transferred to UNHCR. The organisation would double any sum earned at the parade and donate it to help Ukrainian refugees. In the end, more than 18 000 kronor was raised from selling the merchandise, which was an enormous success!

Many 11th grade students from SIS were able to volunteer at such an event for CAS hours. The students were put in charge of various stations and jobs. Some were in charge of the kids’ tents, others were responsible for the merchandise, while some were asked to bounce around from one station to another whenever they were needed. In the process, the students were able to fully experience Irish culture and people. 

We were extremely glad to have an opportunity to experience and take part in an event of this scale. It was a great day with lots of fun!