The 2026 Knoxville St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Photos

I’m trying to turn into a parade person. I really am. Maybe I had a traumatic parade experience as a kid, or maybe I’m just a human alive in the world today, but I’ve always deeply related to that bummer of an Elliot Smith song “Rose Parade” which uses a parade as an allegory for the forced joy, conformity and artificiality of modern society.

Confession: I don’t really like Christmas, either.

But I’m fun at a party, I promise!

Anyway, Alan never missed photographing a parade for Inside of Knoxville, readers seem to appreciate it, and I’ve been trying to carry on that tradition. Or at least delegate it to a writer.

But you know what? Parades are actually growing on me. Having a young kid helps, seeing the look on their face when a parade participant throws them candy or does something silly to catch their eye. And honestly it’s a nice balm to see everybody — organizations I’ve heard of and those I’d like to learn more about, the Knox Republican Party with its inflatable elephant and the Knox Dems with their cardboard cutouts — coming together to celebrate, entertain and engage.

My effort level was 100% heading into Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. After pregaming with some bangers and mash and a Guinness at Boyd’s Jig and Reel …

… we headed up to the 100 block of Gay Street to secure some prime curb real estate for the parade, which stepped off around 1 p.m.

This year’s grand marshal was pro angler and TV personality Jimmy Houston, and Knoxville singer-songwriter Emily Wyrick opened the festivities with the national anthem.

You could hear the bagpipes long before you could see them, which created a palpable sense of anticipation.

It was fun to see friends and families lining the sidewalks, happy, decked out in every possible shade of green. Compared to some other parades, St. Patrick’s wasn’t super crowded, which was nice. It is, overall, a very likable parade.

As a St. Patrick’s Day tradition, the parade has had a vibrant, if occasionally spotty, history. As historian Jack Neely noted in a 2018 column for Visit Knoxville, the celebration has come and gone over the decades before finding its footing again in recent years. He also does a great job of highlighting the formative influence of Irish immigrants on our city.

This year was the largest parade yet, with nearly 80 parade units and more than 800 participants.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, here’s my parade novel. ☘️ If you’re heading out to celebrate the holiday proper today (godspeed your bar crawl, and don’t forget to ride-share or designate a DD!), be sure to check out our 2026 St. Patrick’s Day guide here.