Overview The San Francisco St. Patrick's Day Parade marched for the 175th time in 2026, stepping off from Second and Market at 11:30 on a Saturday morning and ending at Civic Center Plaza, where a free festival of Irish music, dancing and food runs into the afternoon beside City Hall. The 2026 parade ran under the theme Happy 250th America, for the national anniversary. The United Irish Societies of San Francisco, a 501(c)(3), produces the parade and festival, which it brands UniteSF, and also puts on Peter Yorke Day, Robert Emmet Day and the Grand Marshal's Dinner. On site The line mixes floats, marching bands, pipe bands, Irish dancers, cultural organizations, youth groups and community leaders, and in 2025 the society counted more than 5,000 marchers, city officials and international dignitaries among them. At the end of the route the festival fills the Civic Center area around Grove and Polk from 11 to 5, with more than 50 booths of crafts, art, food and drink in 2025 and a main stage for music, dance and short addresses from elected officials and cultural ambassadors. On the plaza itself, a Youth Sports Day ran Irish football, hurling, camogie and rugby demonstrations in 2026, with children joining in. Audience The society pitches the day as family-friendly and multicultural, drawing locals and tourists together, and its main stage gives time to business leaders as well as elected officials. Admission to the festival is free, and the booths run to crafts and family activities as well as food. Talent and Influencers Grand marshals come from inside the Irish community. Pat and Buffy Maguire led the 2026 parade, with Terri Leonard, Jerry De Ryan and Nancy Singleton as honorary grand marshals; the society notes that Singleton came to the parade every year, rain or shine, dressed in green. Recent grand marshals include Mark Gorman in 2025, Tom Hunt in 2024 and Mayor London Breed in 2019, and Joanne Hayes-White led it in 2013. Track record San Francisco has marked St. Patrick's Day with a parade since 1851. The 2025 edition was the 174th, and the society's 2025 deck lists coverage from CBS San Francisco, KRON4 and the San Francisco Chronicle. Brand presence Sponsor level decides where a company marches: the top two tiers go in the first quarter of the parade, the next in the first third, then the second third and the second half. The top tier adds a speaking slot on the main stage and branding in the parade broadcast; lower tiers carry a full-screen ad on the main stage, signage at the parade staging area or along the route, festival booths and tickets to the VIP reception. Civic Joy Fund, Avenue Greenlight and Recology sponsored the 2026 parade.