AUGUSTA, Ga (WJBF) – Saint Patrick’s Day is a day known for parades, dancing, green beer, and, of course, making sure you are wearing green. You don’t want to get pinched.

Though he wasn’t Irish, Saint Patrick is celebrated for bringing Christianity to the Irish people. The Irish have celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day as a religious holiday for more than one thousand years, and today is no different.

Members of the Irish American Heritage Society will begin the day with a mass at the Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church. Later in the afternoon there will be a parade downtown, the second largest in Georgia.

Sean Mooney, treasurer with the IAHS, said he loves to celebrate and share his Irish heritage.

“I think a lot of times you hear about people who get excited about their Irish heritage during St. Patrick’s day. But I think even more so, being proud of their heritage is to share that heritage with others. It’s true that whenever you walk down the street and you see a button, ‘Kiss Me I’m Irish’- everyone’s Irish on St Patrick’s Day. It’s one of our favorite things to celebrate.”

The parade will start on 7th and Telfair. It will move down to 11th Street, then over to Broad Street. The more than 100 floats and entries will continue down to 6th Street, where it ends.

The parade starts at 2 p.m.

And the celebration continues at the Augusta Common after the parade.

It kicks off at 4:00 with an Irish dancing tradition, thanks to the Rhythm and Class Cloggers. Music performances will start at 5.

No matter your taste in music, there’s something for the entire family, thanks to a kids’ zone, food, drinks, and merchandise vendors. There is no charge to attend. The fun wraps up at 10 p.m.