After a seven-year break, one of downtown Honolulu’s biggest St. Patrick’s Day block parties roars back to life on Tuesday, this time taking over Fort Street Mall. The free street festival runs 4-10 p.m. between King and Hotel streets and will pack in live Irish music, food stalls and beer tents in the heart of DoHo. A separate Waikīkī parade will still roll at noon along Kalākaua Avenue, so expect heavier crowds and transit delays across the island’s core.
Events International is staging the street festival with backing from the Fort Street Mall Business Improvement District, and St. Patrick's Day Hawaii confirms the Fort Street Mall site, 4-10 p.m. hours and a mix of live bands, DJs and food vendors. Honolulu Magazine reports the entertainment lineup will include Celtic Pipes & Drums and Irish-tinged rock on two stages, and notes organizers added an indoor dining area inside part of Pickles at Forté for sit-down service.
Parade route and lane closures
The Friends of St. Patrick will run the 59th annual Waikīkī parade at noon, stepping off at Fort DeRussy and heading down Kalākaua Avenue to Kapiʻolani Park. The parade packet lists assembly times beginning in the late morning and shows plans for about 40 vehicular units, along with staging rules and parking guidance for participants, per Friends of St. Patrick. Local reporting notes the parade and downtown festival will trigger late-morning lane closures on Kalākaua that are expected to ease in the early afternoon, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
What’s changed this year
The downtown party has shifted from its longtime Nuʻuanu Avenue home to Fort Street Mall as Events International and the Fort Street Mall BID look to pump more activity back into DoHo, according to Honolulu Magazine. The outlet traces the festival’s lineage and the handoff from longtime organizer Don Murphy. Murphy’s Bar & Grill, the historic anchor of the old Nuʻuanu block party, will be open Tuesday with a pared-down St. Patrick’s menu but will not participate in the Fort Street event, according to Murphy's Bar & Grill.
How to plan
If you are heading downtown or to Waikīkī, build in extra travel time and think about using public transit or ride-share drop-offs a short walk from the festivities. St. Patrick's Day Hawaii highlights the evening’s food and drink vendors, and Friends of St. Patrick urges parade participants and drivers to arrive early and follow on-site directions from volunteers and police. Both sources provide maps and staging details for those taking part.
Organizers are openly calling this year’s Fort Street Mall setup a shakedown run to see what works in the new footprint. Rick Schneider of Events International described the Fort Street edition as a successor to the old Nuʻuanu festivals, while Don Murphy recalled crowds in the thousands at the previous location. Honolulu Star-Advertiser coverage quotes both men and reports that organizers are aiming for turnout in the low thousands this year. If you plan to drink, bring a valid ID, since vendors will be carding for 21-plus purchases.
