How can we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day as a family and avoid the drinking crowd?

Gary Jaffarian will let you know about parades and other fun events to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the family—and a warning for the drinking crowd.

The area’s roots are deeply connected to the Irish immigrants coming to Boston. And while many of us are not from Irish descent, , the Greater Boston Area embraces the belief that “Everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick Day!” According to Wikipedia, people of Irish descent form the largest single ethnic group in the City of Boston, making up 15.8% of the population.

One of the oldest and largest St. Patrick’s Day Parades takes place in South Boston (“Southie”) every year. It can be a great family day watching the Southie parade or attending the parade in  Lawrence. These parades are colorful, happy events and celebrate not only the Irish, but have a deep connection to our heroes—military, veterans, and first responders—police, fire and EMTs, who all take part in the parades. Most people dress in green street clothes or more flamboyant green costumes. Be sure to check out the more than 250 photos on the Southie St. Patrick’s Day Parade web site.

Here is the information for those who want to attend either one—or both parades—this coming weekend and next weekend.

City of Lawrence—St. Patrick’s Day Parade is held on Saturday, March 11, 2017 at 1 p.m.
The parade starts on Essex St. at Amesbury Street. The Parade goes over the Casey Bridge, down Parker St., left on Salem St. across Loring St. down Salem St. to Shawsheen Rd, back to Market Street ending at Market and Loring Streets. The parade ends at Relief’s’ In, (and no, it’s not an “inn”) at One Market Street, Lawrence. The significance of the celebration at the end of the parade at the Relief’s In is that in 1977, a group of Lawrence firefighters along with a few firefighters from Methuen, North Andover, Haverhill, Lowell, Nashua and Salem N.H. had a vision. They wanted a place to call their own to hang out, tell “war stories”, have Union meetings, retirement parties and family parties. The firefighters have always played a significant role in the St. Patrick’s Day parade.

City of Boston— St. Patrick’s Day Parade is held on Sunday, March 19, 2017 at 1:00 p.m.

The parade starts at the Broadway MBTA Stop in South Boston on West Broadway (moves easterly). Click here for a map of the parade route. Your best bet for viewing the parade is to stake out a spot anywhere along Broadway. Marchers continue to Telegraph Street to Dorchester Street and end at Andrew Square in So. Boston.

Other St. Patrick’s Day events in Boston include:

Dropkick Murphys:  It’s a St. Patrick’s weeklong tradition! Boston’s own Dropkick Murphys, famous for their song “Shipping Up to Boston,” do a string of hometown shows at the House of Blues.

Guided Walks of the Irish Heritage Trail:  Every March the Boston Irish Tourism Association provides guided walks of the Irish Heritage Trail; over 200 years of Irish history in Boston from Commodore John Barry to President John F. Kennedy. For more information click here…..

A St. Patrick’s Day Celtic Sojourn with Brian O’Donovan: For the past decade, A St. Patrick’s Day Celtic Sojourn concerts with Brian O’Donovan have introduced a wide range of new and familiar musicians to audiences eager to celebrate the holiday in true Irish style.

JFK Library celebrates with the Greene-O’Leary School of Irish Dancers. Enjoy a celebration of St. Patrick’s Day as these dancers demonstrate their athleticism, skill, and poise while presenting traditional and contemporary styles of Irish dance.

St. Patrick’s Day is officially on Friday March 17. The day may be spent enjoying a traditional meal of corned beef and cabbage and it is likely the evening will be active across the Merrimack Valley and in the City of Boston. Whether you enjoy a Guinness or perhaps a green beer, there will be many heading out after work to raise a glass. For those of drinking age who want to celebrate, please remember to not don’t drink and drive. Find a designated driver, walk to your local bar or restaurant, call a cab or Uber, take public transportation, stay over a friend’s or get a hotel room—just stay off the road.  You have your life, your passenger’s life and those in the other vehicles on the road in your hands. Celebrate responsibly.

Unfortunately,  St. Patrick’s Day has ended in tragedy due to drunk drivers getting behind the wheel. Over St. Patrick’s Day from 2011 to 2015, a total of 252 lives were lost in drunk-driving crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. To help solve the problem of drinking and driving, they started a program called SaferRide and it has mobile apps available. NHTSA’s SaferRide app will help keep drunk drivers off the roads by allowing users to call a taxi or a friend and by identifying their location so they can be picked up. Free downloads are available as follows:

For Android devices, from Google Play store:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nhtsa.SaferRide

For Apple devices, from iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/saferride/id950774008?mt=8

Enjoy the next two weekends celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, the beginning of spring and don’t forget to set the clocks ahead one hour this Saturday night when you go to bed. We’ll lose an hour of sleep, but warmer weather is that much closer!   Happy St. Patrick’s Day and be safe.
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Gary Jaffarian

Our 3rd Annual Customer Appreciation Event is this Saturday!

Hopefully you’ve heard the news, but if not, this Saturday, we are hosting our 3rd Annual Customer Appreciation event. I hope that everyone interested comes out to Jaffarian’s Fishing Extravaganza, where Gene Ellison “The Fishing Machine” will be teach and answer questions in a friendly, highly interactive environment.

As a Professional Bass Angler and recipient of the Professional Anglers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, Gene Ellison remains extremely passionate about teaching, appearing at live demonstrations, teaching classes for children, and has even written a children’s book –Teach Me Fishing. Gene also has a weekly radio show, in which he speaks to amateur anglers about the experiences and insights gained from his years as a tournament angler.

So for all those interested in bass fishing, or have ever thought about fishing, I highly encourage you to come to our event this Saturday. Rain or shine (hoping for the latter!), we will have a cookout and our neighbors from the River Street Bait & Tackle Shop will join in the event, raffling off prizes. Bring your kids as well –the first 75 kids will receive a free fishing rod and activity books will also be available for the kids. Fun for all ages!

Check out the flyer below, and hope to see you tomorrow!

Reflections: Celebrating 50 Great Years as a Toyota Dealer

Today, Jaffarian Automotive Group is being recognized for being a Toyota dealer for 50 years with regional Toyota management coming to present us an award for this accomplishment. We have proudly sold and serviced Toyotas for generations within the Merrimack Valley, and I’d like to take this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to serving both the community and our customers.

In light of this event, I thought you might enjoy learning a bit more about the story of Jaffarian Automotive.

Our dealership started off in 1938 as Jaffarian Service, a gas station owned by Fred Jaffarian and wife Alice, and managed by their cousin Charlie. Jaffarian Service soon included tire services to its repertoire, always careful to maintain an unwavering level of dedication to quality. The goal of Jaffarian Service has always been to offer customers the best possible service, and when Fred’s son Richard took over the business, he decided that the best way to serve his customers was by selling the best vehicle possible.

Richard Jaffarian saw his first Toyota in 1962, and immediately sensed that his customers would love this vehicle. Disregarding any negative views of Japanese products following World War II, my father was impressed with the quality of the Toyota vehicle and predicted it would be a number one brand in America. He took a risk and staked the reputation of his business on that belief (watch video here “Jaffarian Volvo-Toyota-A Bit of History”). Richard had an excellent business sense and the courage to think independently, and his confidence in the brand was epitomized in 2008, when Toyota became the world’s largest automaker, leading not only sales, but customer satisfaction as well.

I wish my Dad was still with us to enjoy this moment later today, but I am proud to have my brother, Mark, and my son, Gavin, with me to celebrate this milestone as a family-owned business that was started just down the street by my grandparents. I’d like to give many thanks to all employees, current and past, who have helped us in so many ways achieve the American Dream and to the greater Haverhill community and to those throughout the Merrimack Valley, thank you for your support and loyalty!

Winner of Facebook to Fenway Will Be On Way to Saturday’s Game at Fenway!

Jaffarian fan, Deborah M. will be on her way from Facebook to Fenway!

Congratulations to Deborah M. for being our lucky “Facebook to Fenway” winner! She will be receiving two free tickets to this Saturday’s May 7th Red Sox game against the Minnesota Twins. We hope Deborah has a great time!

We like to reward our Facebook fans so be on the lookout for more deals and promotions from Jaffarian!

Haverhill Goes Green Again!

We’re looking forward to attending Haverhill Brightside’s “Haverhill Goes Green” event April 17th at Northern Essex Community College! Admission is free to the public and will feature live music, student projects and vendors from local businesses. You’ll find Jaffarian at the car show sharing all there is to know about the Toyota Prius Hybrid!

Haverhil Goes Green April 17

From Facebook to Fenway Continues

Love the Red Sox (rhetorical question because who doesn’t)? So do we! And we want to send two lucky people to the May 7th game at Fenway against the Minnesota Twins. Entry is simple: become a fan of Jaffarian Automotive at and consider yourself entered! Entry will be closed on April 30, 2011.

Fitness For A Cure: This Saturday! (3/26)

Jaffarian is proud to be the valet sponsor of the Fitness for a Cure event raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Helping kids is a core fabric of Jaffarian –especially local kids. Learn more! Go to the day event on March 26, 2011 at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium at 1pm.

Finals Fun at Ski Bradford

Congratulations to all of the winners at this past weekend’s Freestyle Jam Finals! We had a blast at the series held at Ski Bradford the last month and a half.

President Gary Jaffarian handed out trophies to the winners

As a 4th generation family business in the Merrimack Valley, Jaffarian is committed to supporting the local community and especially programs for kids. We hope you enjoyed the Ski Bradford Freestyle Jam series! In addition to our commitment to the community, we are also committed to delivering excellent customer experience for all your automotive needs. From new vehicles to pre-owned, service on all makes and models and a renown auto body shop, we offer full service and complete commitment to providing excellent quality. Come to Jaffarian where you are guaranteed to have a friend in the car business!

We look forward to supporting many more community events and having the opportunity to serve you.

For the entire 2011 Freestyle Jam photo album, click here.

How You Can Win Tickets to a Red Sox Game

Become a fan here!

Freestyle Jam – One Week Until The Finals!

We’ve had a great time the past few weekends at the Freestyle Jam held at Ski Bradford and we’re looking forward to the remaining competition this Saturday (2/19)  before the big finals! Join us at Ski Bradford for snowboarding competitions, fun in the snow with the family, and give aways under the Jaffarian tent. Be sure to pay us a visit and sign up to enter our iPad raffle! See you there!