Talks of spring, summer events in DC area underway but organizers remain cautious during pandemic

Community events still face cancellations for months to come

Talks of traditional spring and summer events are already underway in some parts of the D.C. region, but organizers say they are being a bit cautious with their planning after the pandemic canceled several events last year.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (FOX 5 D.C) - Talks of traditional spring and summer events are already underway in some parts of the DMV, but organizers say they are being a bit cautious with their planning after the pandemic canceled several events last year. 

According to the website for The Ballyshaners, a group formed to promote and preserve Irish heritage, their 40th annual parade that was scheduled for this Saturday has been canceled.

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Last year at this time, organizers squeezed in the largest one-day event right before things were shutting down and strict restrictions went into place.

The parade invites pipe bands, Irish dance schools, community organizations and other performers for the event. It’s then followed by the Fun Dog Show held in coordination with the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria.

"It’s going to be nowhere close to years past but we wanted to stay with traditions and give some sort of normality to these last 12 months," said Kenny Mitchell, general manager of Murphy’s Grand Irish Pub.

"I know we are a Mexican bar during St. Patrick’s Day, but over the past years we do get a lot of foot traffic that spillovers because the line is wrapped around the block but we are close enough," said Jonathan Rennich, co-manager of Don Taco.

In other places, such as Arlington, an Eventbrite invitation sent out for a "Luck of the Irish" pub crawl set for March 13 has also been canceled. 

As far as looking ahead into the summer, Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson said there are talks about planning one of their bigger events known as the Alexandria Birthday Party, which happens on the weekend after July 4th and invites closes to 20,000 to 30,000 people, but he said there are no final decision made yet.