ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester area is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day and Irish culture on Saturday with an annual parade, five-mile run, and Celtic-themed entertainment. Here’s your guide to St. Patrick’s Day events and what you need to know about street closures:

Tops St. Patrick’s Day Parade (Saturday)

The 47th annual Tops St. Patrick’s Day Parade in downtown Rochester will begin at 12:30 p.m. at East Avenue and Alexander Street.

This year, the parade will feature more than 3,000 marchers, nine bands, eight Irish dance groups, and more. The parade typically draws 40,000 to more than 60,000 people to celebrate Irish culture.

The parade will head down East Avenue toward the Liberty Pole. From there, the parade will head down East Main Street and end at the corner of Fitzhugh Street. You can see the map here.

Parade participants will gather on East Avenue between Alexander Street and South Goodman Street and surrounding side streets. These streets will be closed to traffic from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. as people gather for staging:

• East Avenue between Union Street and Goodman Street
• Alexander Street between Park Avenue and Charlotte Street
• Sibley Place at East Avenue
• Meigs Street between Park Avenue and East Avenue
• Arnold Park from East Avenue to Park Avenue
• Strathallan Park from East Avenue to University Avenue
• Prince Street between East Avenue and College Avenue

The parade route will be closed to traffic at noon and will reopen around 3:30 p.m. These streets will also be closed:

• Union Street from Broad Street to Charlotte Street
• Scio Street from Charlotte Street to East Avenue
• Broadway from East Avenue to Broad Street
• Chestnut Street from Broad Street to E. Main Street
• N. Clinton Avenue from Broad Street to Pleasant Street
• St. Paul Street from Pleasant Street to E. Main Street
• State Street from Andrews Street to E. Main Street
• Exchange Boulevard from Broad Street to E. Main Street
• Fitzhugh Street from Broad Street to Church Street

There will be street parking along the parade route and free parking at these garages the day of the parade:

• Sister Cities, 28 N. Fitzhugh St.
• High Falls, 262 State St.
• Washington Square, 111 Woodbury Blvd., until 4 p.m.
• Mortimer Street, 83 Mortimer St., until 4 p.m.
• South Avenue, 39 Stone St., until 4 p.m.
• Court Street, 194 Court St., until 4 p.m.

If you’re attending, look out for the News10NBC family, which will walk in the parade. The News10NBC studio is along the parade route.

Runnin’ the Green (Saturday)

Runnin’ the Green, an annual five-mile race to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, kicks off at 9:30 a.m. on East Main Street between North Clinton Avenue and East Avenue. 

The runners will go down Main Street, turn on Exchange Boulevard, head down Ford Street, and then turn on Wilson Boulevard to Fraternity Road. Then, the runners will run the same route in reverse back to Main Street. You can register for the race here.

The starting area will be closed to traffic from 7 a.m. through 3:30 p.m. after the parade has finished. These roads will also be closed for the race starting at 9 a.m. until the runners finish:

• Main Street from N. Clinton Avenue to St. Paul Street
• Exchange Boulevard from Main Street to Ford Street
• Ford Street from Plymouth Avenue to Mt. Hope Avenue
• Wilson Boulevard from Ford Street to Fraternity Road

Celtic Family Faire (Saturday)

The Celtic Family Faire will be back on Saturday at Hilton Garden Inn at 155 East Main St. at the corner of Stone Street, on the parade route. There will be fun activities for kids and their families from 1 to 4 p.m. The faire will feature:

• Comedy variety show
• Balloon twisting
• Hula hooping demonstrations
• Face painting
• Story telling
• Irish Dance performances
• Hot Cocoa

Voluntary donations will be accepted at the door to benefit Holy Childhood.