Boston, Holyoke Get Ready For St. Patrick
BOSTON (AP) -- St. Patrick's Day may have been Thursday but the two biggest St. Patrick's Day parades in Massachusetts are kicking off this weekend.
The parades scheduled for South Boston and Holyoke on Sunday are expected to attract hundreds of thousands of spectators.
Boston's parade, which started in 1901, features floats and Irish pipe bands and kicks off at 1 p.m. at Broadway.
Boston authorities are promising to make the parade as family-friendly as possible and clamp down on excessive drinking.
Holyoke is holding its 60th St. Patrick's Day parade, with floats, bands and drum and bugle corps from all over the Northeast. The parade kicks off at noon.
One of the highlights of this year's parade is the participation of Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough.
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