North Myrtle Beach City leaders expect about 30,000 people to be in town Saturday for the city’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival.
On Friday, some parking areas were already blocked off, and orange cones and barricades were on the sides of many streets ready for use on Saturday.
“It’s a lot of congestion,“ North Myrtle Beach resident Mary Neal Sealey said about the expected crowd. “We’re expecting more this year than we’ve ever had before.“
Randy Rowland who lives in town part time said he will likely avoid getting into the fray of the parade, opting instead to wait until later in the day to attend the festival.
“It’ll be crazy from about 6 in the morning ‘til I don’t even know what time the parade’s over, but it’s gonna be brutal for probably five hours or so maybe,“ Rowland said.
Some road closures will begin as early as 5 a.m. on Saturday. That includes parts of Main Street and Ocean Blvd. Larger sections of those major roads will be blocked for traffic at 8:30 a.m. Several other side streets will also be blocked Saturday morning.
While some parking lots will also be blocked, others will remain available. There will also be parking at lots further away from main street with bus transportation available.
The following is information provided by the city of North Myrtle Beach:
Spectators gathering to watch the parade should be in place by 8:20 a.m. Main Street closes to vehicular traffic promptly at 8:30 a.m. The parade begins at 8:50 a.m.
Ocean Boulevard is open to vehicular traffic until 8:30 a.m. and reopens around 11:30 a.m., immediately following the parade.
Main Street from Ash Street to Ocean Boulevard closes after the parade and becomes the festival area. A record 184 vendors are sharing their offerings at this year’s festival.
ON-SITE PUBLIC PARKING
Open grass lot between Barefoot Church and BB&T, 601 Main Street
McLean Park, 93 Oak Drive
Grass lot on the corner of 2nd Avenue North and Ocean Boulevard, 200 North Ocean Boulevard
OFF-SITE PARKING PICKUPS
*Buses will run continuously from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
Ocean Drive Elementary School, 901 11th Avenue North
Corner of 8th Avenue North & Ocean Boulevard
Corner of 12th Avenue North & Ocean Boulevard
Corner of 14th Avenue North & Ocean Boulevard
Corner of 17th Avenue North & Ocean Boulevard
*Buses provided are not wheelchair accessible. Please use the open grass lot between Barefoot Church and BB&T, 601 Main Street
ROAD CLOSURES
Friday, 03/15/19
5:00 AM –Public parking lots closed
Parking lot beside The Convenience Store & More
Elliot Parking Lot (unpaved)
Saturday, 03/16/19
5:00 AM – The following streets will close:
Main St., Cedar Ave to Ocean Blvd.
N. Ocean Blvd. @ 1st Ave. N.
S. Ocean Blvd. @ 1st Ave. S.
6:45 AM – The following intersections and private drives will be closed for parade line up:
2nd Ave. N. @ Ye Old Kings Hwy.
Ye Old Kings @ Main St.
Rear entrance to Lowe’s
Dietra Ln. at the Walmart Garden Center
Rosemary Ln. @ 2nd Ave. N. (both ends)
The Cottages at Tilghman Beach (607 2nd Ave. N.)
Ash St. @ 2nd Ave. N.
Holly Ct. @ 2nd Ave. N.
Ocean Key (main entrance) on 2nd Ave. N.
Toby Ct. @ 2 Ave. N.
Carolina Village (407 2 Ave. N.)
Oak Dr. @ 2 Ave. N.
Lynn Ct. (entrance to Courtyard Villas)
Ocean Keys construction entrance on 2nd Ave. N.
Courtyard Homes (301 2nd Ave. N.)
Sand Wedge Condominiums (2nd Ave. N. entrance only)
Hillside Dr. @ 2nd Ave. N. (north and south sides of intersection)
Dirt Alley on west side of Ye Old Kings Hwy.
Mariners Walk (100 Ye Old Kings Hwy.) both entrances
McDonalds (both rear entrances on Ye Old Kings Hwy.)
Bilo entrance on Ye Old Kings Hwy.
NBSC exit onto Ye Old Kings Hwy.
Plastic orange barricades will be in place for officers to use for the above closures.
7:00 AM – Parade entrants begin to line-up.
8:20 AM – The following intersections and private drives will be closed along the parade route.
The Street Dept. will take care of the lane closures associated with U.S.17 and
Robert Edge Pkwy.
Main St. @ U.S. 17 (to be handled by Street Dept.)
Burger FI (Main St. entrance)
Kroger (both Main St. entrances)
NBSC (Main St. entrance)
Bilo (Main St. entrance)
Barefoot Community Church (all Main St. entrances)
Crest Com Bank (Main St. entrance)
Palmer St. @ Main St.
First Federal (Main St. entrance)
BB&T (both entrances to Main St.)
Ash St. @ Main St.
Golden Griddle (rear entrance on Main St.)
Sea Side Sales (both Main St entrances)
Coastal Bridal Shop (Main St. entrance)
Retreat Myrtle Beach (Main St. entrance)
Cedar St. @ Main St. (north and south side of Main St.)
Hughes Luke Law Firm (457 Main St.)
John Clark Law Firm (453 Main St. dirt lot)
McCutchen & Mumford Law Firm (442 Main St.)
Grand Strand Resorts (Main St. entrances)
Déjá vu (Main St. entrance)
Grahams Golf Carts (all three Main St. entrances)
Oak Dr. @ Main St.
Pine St. @ Main St.
Alley beside Daycare
Deckerz (Main St. and Hillside Dr. entrances)
Hillside Dr. @ Main St. (north side only)
Wildflowers (S. Hillside Dr. entrance)
86 S. Hillside Dr.
S. Hillside Dr. @ 1st Ave. S. (south & west sides)
Dirt Parking Lot (1st Ave. S. entrance)
O.D. Arcade (rear parking area)
S. Ocean Blvd. @ 1st Ave. S. (south side only/ reposition barricades for festival closing)
S. Ocean Blvd. @ 2nd Ave. S. (north bound side only)
Hot Diggity Diner (south entrance to S. Ocean Blvd.)
O.D. Resort (entrance, exit, and overflow lot entrances to N. Ocean Blvd.)
1st Ave. N. @ N. Ocean Blvd. (both sides of N. Ocean Blvd,)
The Ashworth
Tilghman Beach & Racquet Club (ocean side entrance only)
N. Ocean Blvd. @ 2nd Ave. N. (southbound lane / north side of intersection)
N. Ocean Blvd. & 3rd Ave. N. (southbound lane only)
9:00 AM – Parade begins.
All intersections and private drives along the parade route (Main St. and Hillside Dr. from 1st Ave. N. to 1st Ave. S. will be opened after the last parade entrant clears S. Hillside Dr. & 1st Ave. S.
11:00 AM – Festival begins. Festival will begin as soon as the parade is over.
4:00 PM – Festival Ends
6:30 PM – (estimated) All streets open to traffic.