"You can take the parade out the party, but you can’t take the party out of parade day," said Julie Ferreira of Coventry.

NEWPORT — Thousands of people were missing Saturday from the city’s annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration because the parade had been canceled. Still, the city was bustling and filled with people determined to party.

"No one is that concerned about the coronavirus if we’re all out like this," Emily Andrews of Warwick said. "We came to see a parade, but without it we can still have fun."

Andrews was in a long line with a lot of other 20-somethings waiting to get into O’Brien’s Pub on lower Thames Street.

"We have to keep the parade day festivities going and not let all those past years of tradition go down the drain," said John Lawrence of Warwick, who had been waiting in the line for about 30 minutes.

"We didn’t know what to expect," Kerrie Philbin, O’Brien’s manager, said. "It’s uncharted territory without the parade on parade day."

O’Brien’s has an outside capacity of 300 people on the patio, but limited entrance to 150 people on Saturday, Philbin said. The inside capacity is 149, but that was limited to 100 for the day.

Under guidelines released by City Manager Joseph J. Nicholson Jr. on Friday, city officials banned any gathering of more than 250 people, one of several measures taken to limit the spread of COVID-19.

"We canceled the D.J. because if we had one, everyone would be dancing really closely," Philbin said. "The way we have it, people are keeping their distance and we have a really good handle on what’s going on."

"It’s weird — it’s really different than a regular parade day," she said.

Tom Regan, one of the co-owners of O’Brien’s Pub, said he had a staff of 50 on for the day, with at least seven of them just cleaning and wiping down restaurant surfaces.

Just across from O’Brien’s, in front of a stone three-story home, three bagpipers and two drummers from the Iona College Pipe Band of New Rochelle, New York, were playing Irish tunes.

Elizabeth Lombardo of Providence and Taylor Parry of Quincy, Massachusetts, were doing Irish step dances on the sidewalk in the midst of the band members.

"You gotta come down to Newport on a day like this, parade or not," Lombardo said after her dance routine.

Liam Geer of Middletown, one of the Iona band members, said he talked his college friends into coming to Newport, even after the parade was canceled.

"We been playing different restaurants, like Fifth Element and Malt," he said.

New Rochelle has been a hot spot for coronavirus cases, and Geer took more than one question about that.

"That’s way on the other side of town," he said.

There were two signs in front of One Pelham East, one that said, "For your safety, capacity is reduced to 200," and the other that said, "All guests must sanitize hands before entry. Sanitation wipes will be provided by staff."

One doorman at the Thames Street club was collecting the $10 cover charge and the other doorman, Brad Michaels, was offering a big box of wipes to each patron.

"Some people are resisting, but if people don’t want to wipe, we don’t let them in," Michaels said. "This is a first for me, but I’ve never been in a pandemic before, either."

The club’s usual capacity is 273, he said.

Aaron Brown, 26, of Newport, attracted a lot of attention with his green T-shirt that said, "Kiss Me, I’m COVID-19 Negative." Giving him a smooch might have been difficult, though, since he was wearing a see-through plastic mask.

"We’re raising awareness," he said. "It’s a fairly fearful time, but it’s also an interesting time. Today, we have having a beautiful time."

The streets were full of young people wearing green T-shirts, but there were not too many families.

Michelle Lauff and Mike Lima of Portsmouth were an exception. They were pushing their son, Hayden, 2½, in a stroller, with the whole family decked out in green.

"We came to see the festivities," Lauff said. "Hayden is loving it. Everyone is coming up to him and taking pictures. It’s great to see so many people keeping up the spirit of the day."

Lauff’s father, Roy Lauff, usually marches in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade with the Newport Artillery Company, so it’s been a family event for the Lauffs for a long time.

Derek Luke and Brent Ryan, two of the founders of Newport Craft Brewing & Distilling Co. and long-time parade sponsors, were to be the two parade grand marshals.

Luke was enjoying the day anyway.

"I couldn’t have scripted the day any better, although I would have liked the parade to go on under different circumstances, and to see Newport businesses profit more," he said. "I’ve walked the route and gotten to see so many of them, like Tavern, Fastnet and Surf Club. If I were marching in the parade, I wouldn’t have been able to do that as grand marshal."

"You can take the parade out the party, but you can’t take the party out of parade day," said Julie Ferreira of Coventry. "The Highlanders Pipe Band has been going up and down Thames playing in all the bars. I just love Newport."

She was with her husband, Jason Ferreira, who was planning to march in the Coventry Fire Department’s honor guard.

The Ferreiras and retired East Greenwich firefighter Jon Larsson and his wife, Leslie Larsson, rented a condo in Brick Market Place.

"We weren’t going to give that up and not enjoy the day," Jon Larsson said.

"I first came to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Newport when I was a student at Roger Williams University," Leslie Larsson said.

There was a lot of music in the air. The Speakeasy Bar and Grill on Thames Street had the doors open and was full with patrons listening to a live band, Straight Out of Rehab.

Usually people are spilling of the Brick Alley Pub on parade day and there is a waiting line to get in.

Not this year, but the bar was full and all the tables were taken.

"I’ve been looking forward to this for months," said Chris Marshall of Burrillville, one of the patrons. "We had a hotel booked and weren’t going to cancel. There are six of us, so we thought we’d just go and enjoy ourselves. We’ve been coming to the parade for at least 10 years."

Doug Pascua of Newport, who had a table with friends at the pub, said he’s been coming to the parade every year since 1965, when he left the Air Force.

"A lot of times I find a float playing my music and I march along with them," he said. "A few times someone up on the float said, ‘Hey dude, join us,’ and I’ve jumped up."

"No parade this year, so we’ll party a little more," he said. "Everyone seems to be having a blast. Bagpipers have come in a few times, so it feels like St. Patrick’s Day."

"It’s been good, about a typical summer Saturday," said Matt Plumb, a Brick Alley co-owner. "On parade day with a parade, it’s about two Saturdays. But we understand why the parade had to be canceled. Something had to be done."

"We appreciate the community showing up," he added. "We’re not a company that can shut down and work from home."

Jennie Plumb and her sister, Christine Murphy, were busy wiping down all surfaces in the restaurant periodically.

"It’s too bad the parade got canceled," said Frank Osterman of North Kingstown. "Because it was outdoors, we didn’t think it would affect health conditions."

Osterman grew up on Bliss Road in the city and does not miss too many parades.

"I think it’s a big mistake to cancel outdoor events," agreed Janet Kropp of Pawcatuck, Connecticut.

Osterman and Kropp were walking around and caught the Bristol County Fifes & Drums band playing on Washington Square in the afternoon.

Mayor Jamie Bova was checking out the scene with her boyfriend.

"It seems like all the businesses are doing the right thing," she said. "They worked with the city and are following the guidelines, like reducing capacity."

A few restaurants like the Red Parrot, The Landing and The Lobster Bar closed for the day.

"We will resume normal business hours on Sunday, March 15," sign in front of the Red Parrot said.

Dennis Sullivan, chairman of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee, was walking the parade route with two committee members checking things out.

"It’s like a bright summer day," he said about the number of pedestrian and amount of car traffic. "We’ve been going into all the businesses that are our sponsors. People are disappointed, but they understand."

"We might do a smaller version of the parade in the fall," Sullivan said. "It would have to be at that time because the summer is too busy. We’ll see."

sflynn@newportri.com