What do you folks have planned for St. Patrick’s Day?
I plan to go to this:
Come Celebrate a month of old Ireland with a series of paintings from the Irish life of this former Irish Rover. Starting with a St. Patricks Day Party March 17th 4p.m until 9 p.m
at Excellent Frameworks Gallery- 28 Station Street Duncan
(250) 746-7112
Craig Street Brew Pub will be offering samples of their fine beers. There will be wine tasting and Some Irish Soda Bread and Jams to help set the mood.
Of course there will be a music session- so bring your Harp!
Even though my husband has made me promise not to buy a painting. (However, he didn’t say anything about buying a print, notecards, calendar, CDs . . . . )
It’s kind of a long drive from Spokane, but I figure I’ll leave after work on Sunday, get over the pass and stop someplace in the Seattle area, then drive the rest of the way up on Monday and drive back on Tuesday. Besides, I haven’t been anyplace since August and I’m getting cabin fever stuck in Spokane!
Spokane always has the parade on the Saturday before the 17th anyway. I haven’t been able to go to the parade for the past 3 years because I have to work Saturdays.
Well, we’re starting early this year, with the Mass in Irish at St. Joseph’s in Mountain View (it’s this Sunday, because the Sunday before St. Patrick’s is Palm Sunday). It’s always really neat…just about anybody in the area who can sing in Irish comes together for the choir (we do the Ó Riada Mass), step dancers lead the procession and bring up the gifts, the whole service is as Gaeilge, and there’s a lovely gathering afterward with more music and dancing.
On the 16th there’s an Irish film festival, followed by a session, at the United Irish Cultural Center in San Francisco, so I’ll be going up there for that afternoon and evening.
It’s gonna be a 3 day event at the pub where I work. Live music and deals on Irish beer. I’ll be cooking up Irish-related food. The classic Corned Beef and Cabbage(I know, it’s Irish-American) and I make a great Chili using Smithwick’s. I’m gonna see if I can’t come up with some other food specials for the event. Any ideas?
I’ll also be performing on Monday! I just hope my finger has healed by then so I can play whistle.(I cut off a piece of my right index finger yesterday! gasp) At least I can still sing!
I’ve never done anything about St. P’s day. That may be a bit of a sacrilege around here, I know.
I s’pose, being a Gillespie, I’ve always identified with the brooding Scot mentality and completely ignored my Irish side.
However, it’s getting more difficult to do so. The lady who cuts my hair is a Daugherty, and more into her Irish heritage than any Baltimorean I can think of. Consequently, every 8 weeks I get the lowdown on how, since my mother’s a Daughtry, we’re only separated by a mere Ellis Island spelling discrepancy, and it’s high time I embrace the green in my blood.
But the other thing is…my cranky tactless temperament seems to owe more to my great-grandmother, a Schaffer, so perhaps if I do drink green beer, it should be in a stein.
Monday the 17th: gigs 8am to 9:30 pm.
Sunday the 16th: gigs from 9 am to 5:30 pm.
Saturday the 15th: gig at 7pm.
When you play Highland pipes, and uilleann pipes, and play in an Irish band, you can take nearly every gig that comes along…
I’m just waiting for all those last-minute calls from Pub owners wanting a piper on the 17th, the only pay being free beer and “exposure”. You just have to laugh in their face.
Gosh, this thread seems late to me. I’ve already done two parades, one on March 1, and one yesterday. Got one more on Saturday, and that’s my favorite, since it’s kinda my hometown parade - Newport, RI. Newport has a very vibrant and active Irish community, plus a huge party atmosphere. Combine those two items with a two-mile parade, and nice weather (praying), and you have a recipe for a fantastic celebration.
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