{"id":150173,"date":"2026-03-02T22:03:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T22:03:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/150173\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T22:03:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T22:03:23","slug":"st-pats-for-all-draws-thousands-to-sunnyside-celebrates-new-yorks-immigrant-community-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/150173\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Pat\u2019s for All draws thousands to Sunnyside, celebrates New York\u2019s immigrant community \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t Search our comprehensive guide to things to do in Queens<\/a> for more local events \u2014 or submit your own<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Thousands of people lined Skillman Avenue Sunday afternoon for the 27th annual St. Pat\u2019s for All Parade,<\/a> which celebrated diversity, inclusivity and New York\u2019s migrant community.<\/p>\n

St. Pat\u2019s for All, founded 26 years ago as a protest against the exlusion of LGBTQ groups from the 5th Avenue St. Patrick\u2019s Day Parade in Manhattan, has evolved into one of the biggest days of the Sunnyside calendar, drawing over 100 groups and more than 1,000 participants.<\/p>\n

The parade followed its traditional route<\/a>, kicking off at 1 p.m. from its starting point at 43rd Street and Skillman Avenue before progressing down Skillman and finishing at the intersection of 58th Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Woodside.<\/p>\n

Over 100 groups participated in the annual parade, including a vibrant mix of cheerleading squads, drum corps, multicultural groups, Irish marching bands and Irish dance troupes that brought a cacophony of sounds to Skillman Avenue.<\/p>\n

\"PhotoPhoto by Ramy Mahmoud<\/p>\n

\u201cStar Trek\u201d actress Kate Mulgrew and Irish Repertory Theatre co-founders Charlotte Moore and Ciar\u00e1n O\u2019Reilly served as grand marshalls for the 2026 parade, which paid tribute to Malachy McCourt, a \u201cstaunch supporter\u201d of St. Pat\u2019s for All who died last year.<\/p>\n

\"PhotoPhoto by Ramy Mahmoud<\/p>\n

Several groups also marched behind banners with political messages, including calls for a Free Palestine and \u201cNo War in Iran\u201d after the U.S. and Israel launched thousands of air strikes across Iran on Saturday, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n

\"PhotoPhoto by Ramy Mahmoud<\/p>\n

Other groups participating in the march displayed banners like \u201cGays against Guns,\u201d \u201cAbolish Nuclear Weapons\u201d and \u201cAbolish ICE.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PhotoPhoto by Ramy Mahmoud<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the event\u2019s customary pre-parade rally featured a number of rousing speeches from prominent Irish and New York City politicians, many of whom celebrated New York\u2019s migrant community amid increased federal immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n

Eamon Gilmore, the former leader of the Irish Labour Party and a former EU special representative for Human Rights, described St. Patrick as a \u201cmodel for inclusion and diversity.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Colum Eastwood, a Member of Parliament representing Derry City and the former leader of Northern Ireland\u2019s Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), said he had been asked to send a message to St. Pat\u2019s for All on behalf of the families of the Bloody Sunday victims, who were shot dead by British soldiers as they marched unarmed for civil rights in Derry in 1972.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe families of the Bloody Sunday victims have asked me to come and send you a message,\u201d Eastwood said. \u201cA message of solidarity to every single person \u2013 citizen or non-citizen \u2013 standing up against ICE and the illegal detention of our people.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs you have always stood with us, we stand with you,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe shall overcome.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Micky Murray, the first openly gay Lord Mayor of Belfast who served as grand marshal at the 2025 parade, said cultures are strongest when they \u201cinclude everyone.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no contradiction between being proudly Irish and being proudly inclusive,\u201d Murray said. \u201cThat means welcoming every immigrant community. It means celebrating our LGBTQ+ community as a valued and equal part of our Irish family, and it means creating a culture where no one is ever told that they don\u2019t belong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PhotoPhoto by Ramy Mahmoud<\/p>\n

Several local elected officials also spoke at the pre-parade rally, leading crowds in chants such as \u201cabolish ICE\u201d and \u201cNo hate, No Fear, immigrants are welcome here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Assembly Member Claire Valdez said St. Pat\u2019s for All was about accepting neighbors \u201cno matter where they come from.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about standing together against forces trying to rip us apart,\u201d Valdez said. \u201c(It is) celebrating what makes this neighborhood and our community beautiful.\u201d
\n\"NY-7NY-7 candidates Antonio Reynoso, Claire Valdez and Julie Won at Sunday\u2019s St. Pat\u2019s for All Parade. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud\n<\/p>\n

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards told the crowd that diversity is the borough\u2019s strength and said participants in the 2026 St. Pat\u2019s for All Parade would march for those who could not march themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to continue to stand up for our immigrant communities, LGBTQIA+ communities. We will continue to march against this tyranny and people who want to divide us,\u201d Richards said.<\/p>\n

Council Member Julie Won, on the other hand, praised the local Sunnyside and Woodside communities for standing up for migrant and LGBTQ communities. She added that her office has helped organized rapid response training for over 2,000 people to help push back against federal immigration authorities and vowed that she is \u201cjust getting started.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will continue to fight for the safety of every single one of our neighbors,\u201d Won said.\n<\/p>\n

Attorney General Letitia James, who styled herself as \u201cLetitia Jameson\u201d for the afternoon, said St. Pat\u2019s for All was an event where people come together \u201cunited as one\u201d against hate and discrimination.<\/p>\n

\"AttorneyAttorney General Letitia James. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud<\/p>\n

Over a dozen local elected officials, including State Sen. Michael Gianaris; Assembly Members Jessica Gonz\u00e1lez-Rojas and Catalina Cruz; Council Members Shekar Krishnan and Linda Lee; and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso also spoke at the rally.<\/p>\n

But there was a time when the St. Pat\u2019s for All organizing committee struggled to receive support from elected officials or large swaths of the local community.\n<\/p>\n

Danny Dromm, a co-founder of St. Pat\u2019s for All and a former City Council Member, noted that the parade is \u201cvery different\u201d from when it first launched 26 years ago.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cVery few people were on the street. Now, it\u2019s packed,\u201d Dromm said. \u201cThe parade has grown. The community has welcomed it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

The 5th Avenue St. Patrick\u2019s Day Parade has since reversed its ban on LGBTQ groups, while the Staten Island Parade began allowing LGBTQ groups to march under their own colors last year, with organizers noting that every parade in the city now allows the LGBTQ community to participate.<\/p>\n

Although the original inspiration for the protest has now been resolved, organizers believe that St. Pat\u2019s for All remains an opportunity to stand in solidarity with other groups marginalized by society or politicis, including the immigrant and trans community. The parade is also a hugely popular event on the annual Sunnyside calendar.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a wonderful day enjoyed by everybody,\u201d Dromm said. \u201cI think it\u2019s really important to our immigrant communities, especially in this time and in this country, that we should up and support them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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