Safety at South Bend St. Patrick's Day Parade

SOUTH BEND, Ind.—

St. Patrick's Day is still a week away, but the fun starts this weekend in South Bend. 

While many parade goers this weekend will be seeing lots of green, they’ll also see an increase of blue. South Bend police will be on full force along the parades route, ensuring all are safe to enjoy the parade day festivities. Although there has been a rise in crime in the downtown area, SBPD says there is nothing to worry about,

"You know we've ramped up a lot of what we do, in preparation as far as the street closures, we partner with the street department, traffic and lighting, and we have squad cars and city vehicles to prevent anything from happening, so it should be a safe and fun event," 

said Sergeant Brad Rohrschieb who over sees traffic and special events. 

The parade will begin at 11am, and head down Jefferson from Francis to Niles before turning onto Niles, where the East Race Waterway will be dyed green thanks to Fiddler’s Hearth.

Fiddlers Hearth is ready for their busiest season of the year, with a full lineup of live music, drinks, and traditional Irish food on the menu, including a 4 course Irish dinner available following the parade. They get pretty busy on both Parade day and St. Patrick's Day with lines out the door so make sure to make a reservation to join in on the fun. 

"its defiantly our busiest time of the year…aside from home football games at Notre Dame.. but St. Patrick's day we normally have a line out the door, to start at 11am so get here early," said Em Huener the marketing director. 

Free Parking will be available at the three city garages for the event.