Green was everywhere in downtown Denver on Saturday.

Shirts were green, balloons were green, even the beer was green as Denver's St. Patrick's Day Parade returned to LoDo following a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mike Stokes of Highlands Ranch wore a green Care Bears outfit for his daughter and had his lucky "Irish shoes" that mirror Ireland's national flag. Stokes said his family has been going to the parade for as long as he can remember and it was great to be back.

"This is like our Christmas, honestly," Stokes said. "This is what we do every year. It's just a great way to celebrate the holiday and make new family memories."

The annual parade kicked off just after 9:30 a.m. at 19th and Wynkoop streets as several of the Denver Police Department's motorcycles flew down to lead the rest of the marchers. 

Members of the Denver Fire Department, parade's committee, bagpipe and drumline musicians and even stormtroopers threw beads, candy and sunglasses into the crowd.

But attendees of the parade weren't the only people excited for its return. Mark Bunim, regional director of operations at Hopdoddy Burger Bar, said this type of activity is great for an industry that took a beating during the pandemic.

"This and the Rockies opening day are our two busiest days of the year," Bunim said. "I'm actually based in California and I came all the way out here to make sure we could actually have some fun."

Bunim said he hoped to have a minimum of 800 guests at the restaurant by the night's end, which is more than double the amount of people on an average Saturday. 

A few blocks down, near 18th and Blake streets, people swarmed to Sir Bar. Josh Coleman, the bar's general manager, said they'd been preparing for the parade for more than two weeks, and without the COVID-19 restrictions he said it was starting to feel like life was returning to normal.

"The St. Patrick's Day Parade in Denver has always been the gateway to spring and the beginning of the busy season for bars, restaurants and the service industry," Coleman said. "With the mask mandate being repealed and people coming out of the woodworks again, it feels like a reminder of what life used to be like pre-pandemic."

Outside of Sir Bar was Stacy Cassel, her husband Brett and two children Clyde and Colin, who have been going to the parade since the family moved to Denver in 2016.

Brett Cassel said the family enjoys celebrating their heritage, while 7-year-old Clyde's favorite part was seeing the Star Wars characters marching down Wynkoop.

"I love the stormtroopers," Clyde Cassel said. 

Other children, like Demitrius Chacon, shared similar sentiment with Clyde Cassel as he enjoyed seeing the Star Wars characters, he said. Demitrius was accompanied by his mother, Anne Chacon, and Shaun Welch, who have been coming to the parade for over a decade.

Anne Chacon said being able to gather downtown with thousands of people on her favorite holiday was a blessing and the pandemic really put that into perspective.

"It was a real downer to not be able to come out and celebrate the last two years," she said. "So just being able to celebrate with everyone again is an unbelievable feeling and I definitely won't ever take it for granted again."