7 Savannah Traditions the Rest of Georgia Doesn’t Quite Get

One early recipe for Chatham Artillery Punch was meant to serve 160 people.

That’s Savannah for you, and the rest of Georgia doesn’t always know what to make of it.

Here are the Savannah traditions the rest of Georgia doesn’t quite get.

1. Greening the Fountain

Savannah’s fountain-greening tradition dates to 1985, and it kicks off St. Patrick’s Day season.

In 2026, leaders of the parade committee and elected officials poured dye into the Forsyth Park fountain’s basin a few minutes after noon.

Emerald green water began to flow from the swans, the merman, and the other water-spraying figures.

The dye works fast.

That made the monument 168 years old.

Many Georgians elsewhere find dyeing a fountain on purpose a strange way to start a holiday.

2. Electing the Grand Marshal

Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day parade elects a new grand marshal every February in a members-only election.

Applicants must be at least 55 years old, male, and able to trace ancestry to Ireland.

If you want to carry the title, you’d better start checking your family tree.

Only members vote.

A committee of local male residents puts the parade on.

If you’re picturing a free-for-all, you’ve got the wrong parade.

The parade dates to 1824.

That year, the Hibernians, a local Irish society, invited the public to a procession and reception for a bishop from Charleston, South Carolina.

Georgia’s second governor, Henry Ellis, was Irish, and Savannah’s Irish population grew quickly in colonial times.

The parade is part of the religious observance of the feast day of St. Patrick, so it lands on March 17, unless that date falls on a Sunday.

3. Chatham Artillery Punch

An early recipe for Chatham Artillery Punch, a Savannah drink, was meant to serve 160 people.

That recipe called for two gallons of wine and a gallon of rum.

It added a quart each of gin and brandy, the juice from three dozen lemons, and six bottles of champagne.

The shopping list is long.

Savannah Magazine says Savannahians, past and present, have always seen fit to raise their collective spirits.

A simplified version of the recipe makes about two quarts, so you can skip the 160 guests.

4. SCAD Sidewalk Arts Festival

In 2024, the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Sidewalk Arts Festival filled Forsyth Park with chalk art on Saturday, April 27.

Visit Savannah calls it a treasured tradition, and college students, alumni, and local high school students compete for prizes.

The 2024 festival was free to attend.

A 2010 National Geographic report described 850 sidewalk squares turned into canvases.

That’s a lot of chalk.

In 2019, the festival ran from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on a Saturday.

If you go, you can stroll the gallery while you enjoy local food and music.

5. Greek Festival

Savannah's Greek Festival marked its 75th year in October 2026.

It ran October 8 to 10 at the Hellenic Community Center, 14 West Anderson Street, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The menu included homemade Greek foods, Greek desserts, Greek dancing, Greek music, and a market place.

Pastries like baklava and koulourakia shared the list with Greek coffee.

Admission was free.

Its 75 years of tradition make it an annual favorite.

If you like Greek coffee, you had three days to try it.

If you went, you could take a church tour between desserts.

6. Georgia Day Parade

In 2020, Savannah's Georgia Day Parade put more than 3,000 school children on the street.

Those marchers represented 42 schools.

The 2020 parade began at 10:45 a.m.

Kids lead the way.

The route runs from Forsyth Park to City Hall.

The Georgia Historical Society hosts the parade to commemorate the founding of the Georgia colony in 1733.

The parade is part of the annual Georgia History Festival.

In 2020, the 3rd Infantry Division Color Guard was set to present the colors in front of City Hall.

Local students also compete to design banners for the parade.

7. Colonial Faire and Muster

Savannah's Wormsloe State Historic Site, at 7601 Skidaway Road, hosts the Colonial Faire and Muster in February.

Demonstrators in period dress show off the tools and skills of colonial Georgia.

Visitors can interact with historical interpreters during programs and events.

The 2026 faire ran on a Friday and a Saturday.

You could visit demonstrations in a military camp, an early Georgia camp, a colonial life area, and a heritage garden.

That Sunday was a free admission day in observance of Super Museum Sunday.

Parade Morning in the Squares

Savannah's St. Patrick's Day parade day starts early: The city opens the squares at 6 a.m., and tailgate tent cities go up shortly after.

Even today, the first event on parade day is an 8 a.m. Mass, and the parade doesn't start until 10:15 a.m.

In 2026, seating for groups of up to 50 people was available if you wanted a spot together.