Now There Are 3 St. Patrick's Themed Events Scheduled For March 4 In Hoboken

HOBOKEN, NJ — Hoboken will now have three St. Patrick's Day-themed events occurring on Saturday, March 4, although none will involve a parade.

The Hoboken Business Alliance announced over the weekend that in response to their survey last fall, asking if the St. Patrick's Day Parade should return, a themed float will weave its way through town on that day, stopping three times for musical performances.

The intent is to host a "family friendly" event as an alternative to the privately run bar crawls that start at 10 a.m. on the first Saturday in March each year, sometimes called "LepreCon."

Now, a third event has been announced on that day, starting at 10 a.m. It will be a bar crawl, but organizers promise it will be "respectful" and they'll work with the city of Hoboken. It has a list of participating bars that's different from the LepreCon list.

"Today, a coalition of local Hoboken business owners announced that The Original Hoboken St. Patrick’s Day will be celebrated on March 4, 2023," an organizer said Tuesday. "Celebrating Irish culture has been an integral part of the fabric of Hoboken and this event will continue that tradition in a responsible and respectful manner."

Gary Yip, co-owner of several participating bars and the founder of Hoboken Hospitality, said, “I’m proud to work alongside my fellow business owners in listening to the voice of our community and creating an experience that Hoboken can be proud of.”

He said the same coalition hosted "HoHo Hoboken," which was separate from SantaCon, in December.

The group said they addressed public safety concerns by limiting tickets, communicating with the city and raising money for TRUE Mentors, a non-profit organization that helps mentor young adults in Hoboken.

Kimberly Bollard, the director of True Mentors, said, "TRUE Mentors was honored to have been the recipient of the HoHo Hoboken fundraiser back in December ... we were able to utilize the funds towards our Enrichment Club Programming for our youth."

Helps Them Stay In Business

Hoboken's restaurant owners have said that these holiday-themed events provide enough revenue to help them stay open through slower seasons.

The venues participating in "The Original Hoboken St. Patrick’s Day Celebration" for 2023 include: 80 River Hoboken, Birch Hoboken, Black Bear Bar & Grill, Bobbleheads Saloon, Green Rock Tap & Grill, McSwiggans Pub, Mike’s Wild Moose Saloon, Mills Tavern, Tally-Ho, Texas Arizona Bar & Grill, Fat Taco Tequila Bar, The Stewed Cow, The Brass Rail, Union Hall, The Lola and Wicked Wolf Tavern.

A portion of ticket sales will go to a local Hoboken charity chosen by the venue owners.

They will not accept LepreCon tickets, they said.

LepreCon 2023 has seven bars participating so far, and also starts at 10 a.m. Their tickets are here.

Tickets for the Original St. Patrick's celebration are here.

Parades, Parties, And Past Arrests

The independently run LepreCon bar crawls began to pop up in Hoboken after the traditional St. Patrick's Day parade was canceled in 2012. It was always held the first Saturday in March to get the best bands, but as Hoboken became more popular with young people, house parties cropped up on the same day, leading to arrests.

After Mayor Dawn Zimmer asked that the parade be moved to a weeknight, the organizing committee refused and canceled it. "The city of Hoboken’s inability to protect our spectators, bands and participants led us to this heartbreaking decision," said a 2012 letter from organizers about what would have been the 26th annual parade. Read more about that here.

Arrests on LepreCon weekend have started to decline, with six at LepreCon 2020. See photos from that event here.

This year, bar crawl organizers also have events planned in Hoboken on March 11 and on the weekend of March 18, as St. Patrick's Day falls on a Friday.