WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Businesses in downtown West Palm Beach are hoping the Luck of the Irish is on their side as people come out to safely celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
It was exactly one year ago that the COVID-19 pandemic started to take hold, shuttering businesses and canceling events.
Now, the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority says things are looking up.
"We are definitely seeing an increase of people coming back downtown," Associate Executive Director for the DDA Teneka James Feaman said. "Our businesses are beginning to rehire staff and are staffing up just because we've seen that downtown so it's kind of a renormalization for our businesses downtown again."
She says St. Patrick's Day is typically a big day for business downtown.
"It's a great opportunity as we are slowly coming out of this pandemic and people are feeling a little more a little more comfortable coming outside and doing it safely wearing their masks, obviously our businesses abiding by laws in regards to being safe," Feaman said.
O'Shea's Irish Pub will host the main event in downtown West Palm Beach, closing down the 500 block of Clematis Street for an outdoor celebration featuring live music and other activities. The road will be closed from 1 p.m. Wednesday to 6 a.m. Thursday.
"It literally was a year ago this month that everything came to a halt so we're excited that our event producer O'Shea's Pub proceeded with doing the event, I know they are abiding by all of the guidelines in regards to COVID since we are still a little bit under the pandemic," Feaman said. "It feels good to be able to say that we are coming out of it and we are seeing hopefully the end of what we've seen this past year."
You can find more West Palm Beach St. Patrick's Day deals and events here.
In Delray Beach, the annual St. Patrick's Day parade was canceled for a second year in a row. The city instead is hosting a holiday scavenger hunt all week. You can find more details here.