Usually, one person is chosen to lead the way as downtown fills with a frenzy of green for St. Patrick’s Day.

Not this year.

About 100 women will march in front Saturday during the 36th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. They’ll share the role of grand marshal.

That’s to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which in 1920 secured women’s right to vote.

John O’Donnell, whose company, O’Donnell & O’Donnell, founded the parade in 1985, said the sight of the 100 leading women wearing white (representing the suffrage movement) will be “empowering.” He also said it wasn’t his idea.

That credit goes to his daughter, Kaleigh O’Donnell.

Inspired by a women’s history class she took at Pikes Peak Community College, the younger O’Donnell brought up the idea to break the norm for the parade’s grand marshal.

“I knew that the centennial anniversary was going to be this year,” Kaleigh O’Donnell, 28, said. “I thought this would be a good way to celebrate.”

The O’Donnells and other organizers then went about getting 100 women on board. The group includes “movers and shakers, icons and leaders,” Kaleigh O’Donnell said.

Among them are Tara Thomas, director of Bemis School of Art, and educators at Pikes Peak Community College and University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Some will have banners adorned with “Let Us Vote” slogans. Some will bring along daughters or granddaughters, meaning marchers will range in age from younger than 10 to 80 and older.

“Hopefully, it’ll be kind of breathtaking,” Kaleigh O’Donnell said.

Former Colorado Springs Mayor Mary Lou Makepeace will be one of the 100 and called the grand marshal idea “terrific.”

If you go — Colorado Springs

Here’s some St. Patrick’s Day events happening this weekend:

•The St. Patrick’s Day Parade steps off at noon on the corner of Tejon and E St. Vrain streets and and continues south on Tejon Street to Vermijo Avenue. The event is free. You can purchase tickets, $10-$25, for seats in the St. Pat’s Grand Stands at csstpats.com.

•This Luck of the Irish bar crawl kicks off at 6 p.m. Friday at Jack Quinn’s Irish Pub and Restaurant, 21 S Tejon St. Hop on the Local Motive Party Bus to visit others bars in Colorado Springs. Tickets cost $25. For more info and to sign up, visit localmotiveevents.com.

• The Pedaling for St. Pat’s 50K Bike Ride at 9 a.m. Saturday includes three cycling courses, from a family-friendly route to a grueling ride from downtown to the top of Woodmen Road at Blodgett Peak Open Space. Register for $40 at csgrandprix.com.

• 5K on St. Patrick’s Day begins at 10 a.m. Saturday. The route starts and ends at Acacia Park at the intersection of Tejon and Bijou streets and stays mainly on Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs. Registration, $30, is required. Sign up at csgrandprix.com.

• The Leprechaun Fun Run begins at 11 a.m. Saturday. A 1-mile course is open to ages 6-12 and a half-mile course is open to ages 5 and younger. A parent can tag along with runners 5 and younger. Registration, which costs $10, is required. Sign up at csgrandprix.com.

(Note: Participants must pick up their packets for athletic events at the St. Patty’s Sports Expo, set for 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday at The Mining Exchange Hotel, 8 S Nevada Ave.)

“It’s an opportunity to pay tribute to the women who worked so hard to make this (women’s right to vote) happen,” she said. “We’re all beneficiaries of that. I would never have been able to run for mayor or have the career I wanted if not for those women fighting for and getting the right to vote. So many things flowed out of that.”

It’s not just about looking back, she said.

“It’s a reminder that this is a right that was hard-fought, and we can’t just sit back and relax,” Makepeace said. “We have to be vigilant and continue to support other women.”

The parade draws about 20,000 to 25,000 people each year. Among the spectators lining the sidewalks, Makepeace pointed out, will be girls and young women.

“This is showing them that they have the potential to be whatever they want to be,” she said.

If you go — around Colorado

Here’s some St. Patrick’s Day events happening this weekend:

• The outdoor Irishfest Denver, featuring food and drink vendors and Irish dancing and music, is set for 5 p.m. to midnight Friday, 9 a.m. to midnight Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday in downtown Denver’s Ballpark District on 21st Street between Market and Lawrence streets. Admission is free and it’s open to all ages. For more info, visit irishfestdenver.com.

• The Old Town Irish Party is slated for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Old Town Square in downtown Fort Collins. Check out live music, a green beer garden and a family-friendly Shamrock Festival with circus performers, face painters and Irish crafts. Admission is free. For more info, visit downtownfortcollins.com.

•The Durango Celtic Festival returns Thursday with four days of live Irish and Scottish music at Henry Strater Theatre and the Irish Embassy Pub in Durango. A full festival pass starts at $150. You can also buy a one-day pass or pay for individual events. For more info, visit durangocelticfestival.com.

Before the parade, the grand marshals will meet at Garden of the Gods to re-create a photo of the first gathering of the League of Women Voters of Colorado in the early 1920s

The new photo, Kaleigh O’Donnell said, “will celebrate 100 years of progress.”

That won’t be the only thing celebrated Saturday, when “we all come together to pretend we’re Irish Catholic for a day,” O’Donnell said.

She knows the drill. She’s helped out with the parade since she was 7. This year, she’ll pour drinks from a pop-up pub near Bijou and Tejon streets. The stand will serve Guinness and whiskey.

O’Donnell said she’d like to take over the event one day.

“I love doing it, and it’s been a huge part of my family,” she said. “I can’t imagine my life not involving the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.”