St. Patrick's Day Parade kick offs in Center City

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- There was a lot of green on the streets of Center City this weekend!

Philadelphia held its annual St. Patrick's Day Parade on Sunday.

The Philadelphia St. Patrick's Day Parade dates back to 1771, which means the parade has been going strong in the city for over 250 years.

It is the largest Philadelphia parade by number of participants, with approximately 20,000 people marching and more than 200 groups represented.

Phillip 'Knute' Bonner Jr. says he's marching in honor of his parents.

"Grew up marching in this since I was a little kid," said Bonner from Tinicum, Pennsylvania.

This year's theme is St. Patrick, Bless Philadelphia with a New Dawn of Hope.

The parade kicked off at 11:15 a.m. at 16th Street and JFK Boulevard.

Irish dancers, marching bands, youth groups, Irish Associations, and others marched around City Hall, down Market Street toward Penn's Landing, with the performance stage outside Independence Mall.

"The 69th Pennsylvania (Irish Volunteers) has been marching in the St. Paddy's Day parade for about 160 years," noted Michael Ernsberger, captain of the 69th PA Irish Volunteers, a reenactment group.

Many parade-goers said the day was a memorable one.

"I'm really glad to be here, I'm really grateful because not a lot of people get to do this. It's like really awesome," said Lucy Mellon from Collegeville.

The parade ended at 3 p.m. on Front Street in Penn's Landing.

During the parade, there were a few traffic delays and detours in the area.