PARADES ARE NOT ALLOWED ON PUBLIC PROPERTY, INCLUDING STREETS AND RIGHTS OF WAY IN NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, UNLESS PERMITTED BY THE CITY
The City canceled its 2021 St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Main Street due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to have a serious, sometimes deadly impact on North Myrtle Beach residents.
This action did not sit well with some, and efforts to create a St. Patrick’s Day event on Main Street ensued. It is clear that what started out as a St. Patrick’s Day pub crawl on Main Street with golf carts as transport has now escalated to the level of a parade.
All businesses, organizations, and individuals should be aware that under section 16-13 of the City Code of Ordinances, no person, group, or organization may call for a parade on public property, including public streets and public rights of way unless they receive permission to do so from the City of North Myrtle Beach. The City has not granted any person, group, or organization that permission.
In the event that an unpermitted parade is imminent, the City will take the law enforcement action necessary to prevent the parade from occurring, including persons who do not disband after lawfully ordered to do so. Again, the City’s primary concern is for the safety and well-being of potential parade participants and observers, in addition to keeping the City’s streets free from unapproved traffic obstruction.
While we certainly understand the strong financial pressures this pandemic has brought to bear on our business community and on the City, as the governing body in our community the City must do all that it lawfully can to protect the public from further devastation from this pandemic.
All of us are working toward and planning for that day when the City of North Myrtle Beach can return to Main Street with its very popular festivals, its free music concerts, and its other events that draw so many people downtown, benefitting residents, the business community, and visitors alike.