SeeCalifornia.com

On Feb. 25, 2016 the Grand Marshal Dinner for the 165th St. Patrick’s Day Parade was held at the United Irish Cultural Center in San Francisco. The parade takes place on March 12, but there are many events leading up to the big celebration, including Mayor Ed Lee’s Flag Raising at the San Francisco City Hall Rotunda on March 4 at 10 a.m. In addition to the green, white & orange Irish flag flying at City Hall the building is bathed in emerald green lights — quite a sight!  San Francisco became one of America’s most Irish cities when immigrants during California’s Gold Rush that coincided with Ireland’s famine came to the Bay Area and Los Angeles. California has the largest Irish population in the U.S. with more than 2.5 million descendants living in the state. San Francisco is by no means California’s only Irish town (Murphys and Dublin come to mind) to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in a big way. But if you have to pick just one place to show your Irish heritage, pound for pound San Francisco wins, hands down.