“This is the best day ever!”

Friends Ayda, 10, and Averi, 9, donned bright green fake mustaches, green clover-shaped sunglasses and springy leprechaun headbands Saturday at Denver’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

The two friends shrieked with joy and bounced up and down as floats decorated for the holiday cruised down Blake Street, their riders handing out beads, stickers, candy and even donuts to the green-clad crowds lining the street.

The parade takes place every year in Denver and has since 1962, bringing St. Patrick’s Day joy to the city streets and giving parade viewers the chance to vote for the favorite float. 

Char Harris, a parade-watcher, used to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day every year with her father until he died, she said.

She has carried on the celebratory tradition in his honor and came this year with her granddaughter, Kristona. 

Jennifer Holmes has been attending the parade for 14 years, bringing her kids out to enjoy the fun since they were two years old, she said.

“I’m Irish, my family’s Irish,” Holmes said. “We love the culture and the fun and they really stepped it up a notch this year. It’s impressive.”

Crowds of people lined the sidewalks, watched from bar balconies and waved from apartment windows as the parade, which started at 9:30 a.m. and lasted into the early afternoon, blew bubbles, threw confetti and blasted music for its enthusiastic audience.

Mitchell and Debbie watched from their second-story apartment window with drinks and festive green shirts, dangling their feet in the spring air.

Ashley, 5, Xionna, 6, Xiah, 5, and Amelia, 4, played along with the parade music on plastic green trumpets and added more and more green beads to their outfits as people in the parade handed them out. 

The parade committee each year is made up of 300 volunteers, according to the parade website, and funded through donations and sponsorships. The non-profit organization is not associated with the City of Denver or any other government entity.

Anyone interested in volunteering can join through the organization’s website.

PHOTOS: 2023 St. Patrick's Day Parade