9 things to do for your 901 St. Patrick’s Day

Many things are celebrated on St. Patrick’s Day — the color green, shamrocks and yes… a wee bit of alcohol. The Irish holiday lands on a Friday this year and has been celebrated for thousands of years. Irish families would pause from the Christian season of Lent for St. Patty’s and millions of Irish immigrants brought the holiday to America in the wake of the Potato Famine. Like all major cities in the U.S., Memphis celebrates St. Patrick’s Day with a handful of lucky events.

 

1.     See the second annual Cooper Young St. Patrick's Day Parade

One of the earliest ways to celebrate is to catch a parade occurring Friday at 10 a.m. at the Cooper Young Historic District. Floats, dancers, bands and cars driving along will be present at the parade. The Memphis Gaelic Athletic Association (MGAA) will also display their collective hurling and Gaelic football skills.

 

2.     Go to St. Patrick’s Day Celebration with Sigma Alpha Iota-Delta Beta Chapter

U of M sorority Sigma Alpha Iota-Delta Beta Chapter is hosting a “game night†that is open to all students for $5 on Friday night. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. with the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music. The event will be held in rooms G6 and G8 of the Music Building and attendees are asked to go to G6 first. The celebration’s admission fee covers all games and food. Face painting and non-alcoholic drinks are $1.

 

3.     Support U of M student Drew Erwin at Flying Saucer

Flying Saucer is throwing a St. Patty’s celebration on Friday with live music featuring Gallowglass, Bagpipers and singer/songwriter Drew Erwin, who happens to be a U of M student. Beers are $3.50 and there will be corned beef and cabbage, Guinness and shepherd’s pie.

 

4.    Visit an authentic Irish pub

The Brass Door, Celtic Crossing, Dan McGuinness and Silky Sullivan’s are some local pubs that offer Irish food and drinks. Some of these have more specific events scheduled that are discussed shortly. The Brass Door is on Madison Avenue, Celtic Crossing is located on South Cooper Street, Dan McGuinness is on Peabody Place Suite and Silky Sullivan’s is on Beale Street.

 

5.     Check out Celtic Crossing’s St. Patrick’s three-day Festival

Celtic Crossing is hosting a three-day throw-down in Midtown complete with a party tent, booze specials, live Irish music and Irish food. The festivities begin Friday with a 7 a.m. brunch. Live bagpipers and dancers will perform and drink specials will be available all day. Celtic’s “Cooper Young Party Tent†will feature performances from The Reel McCoy (11 a.m.), Dancing Jimmy’s (3 p.m.), Dylan Walshe (6:30 p.m.) and Moses Crouch (8 p.m.) on Friday as well. On Saturday, $10 will give you access to another “party tent†where live music will be played from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. Another brunch and more live music will be on Celtic’s patio from 12-3 p.m. on Sunday.

 

6.     Participate in the Tweed Ride by the Peddler Bike Shop

For the athletic type — Peddler Bike Shop is hosting a “Tweed Ride†on Friday starting at 6:30 p.m. The ride will start at Peddler Walker to High Cotton Brewing where participants will then celebrate with High Cotton beer and various food trucks. After bikers return to the bike shop, they can hit the thrift stores on the way back. Lights and helmets are required for riding.

 

7.     See Silky Sullivan’s Parade on Beale Street

Silky Sullivan’s will host their 43^rd annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Friday. The celebration starts with “Raising the Goat†and then “The Blessing of the Keg†in Handy Park. The “Beale Street Pub Crawl†will begin at 6 p.m.

 

8.     Hear some mid-2000’s emo covers at Growlers

Fans of the bands Brand New and Taking Back Sunday can hear a slew of Memphis rock bands cover these bands’ hits Friday night at Growlers. Sleepwlkrs, Indeed We Digress, Follow the Fox, Try Hard, Good Buero and Shed have all been assigned different albums by TBS and BN and will be performing them thanks to local booking company Refreshing Shows. Growlers will keep the night in the Irish spirit with various drink specials including $2 green Jell-O shots, $3 green PBR pints, “Hell Cat Maggie†shots and $6 “Memphis Car Bombs.†Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the night will end at 1 a.m.

 

9.     Watch Marvel’s “Iron Fist†on Netflix

With the weather forecast looking bleak with showers and even a possible thunderstorm, this year’s St.Patrick’s day is going to be a cold and rainy one in Memphis. Netflix may just be the best way to celebrate if you don’t feel like braving the Bluff City’s festivities. Go ahead and binge Marvel’s latest Netflix show “Iron Fist,†which is now available for streaming. “Braveheart†is also on Netflix, but William Wallace was Scottish (not Irish), so you might look like an arse.