Holyoke, Massachusetts, claims to have the second or third largest St. Patrick's Parade in the country. I don't know whether that's true, but the parade does take almost three hours to pass, and people begin "reserving" their viewing spots a couple of hours before the parade even starts.
I've fought the traffic and crowds so many times that I decided to go to the staging area instead for photos. They lack some of the life of actual parade shots, but I think they do give an indication of how everyone in Holyoke is Irish on that day.
