According to the old bumper sticker, “There are two kinds of people in the world: those who are Irish, and those who wish they were.” Whether you believe that or not, an awful lot of people seem “Irish-ish” on March 17. Ironically, St. Patrick’s Day wasn’t a big thing in Ireland until recently, when they started rolling out the green beer for tourists who showed up expecting a party.
St. Patrick’s Day as we know it was the brainchild of the Irish diaspora around the world (of which I count myself one, as my dad was born in County Down). And while green beer isn’t my thing, I can sing along to “The Wild Rover” or “Danny Boy” with the best of them. So here are four St. Patrick’s Day road trip ideas. To quote an old Irish blessing, “May the road rise to meet you.” And please remember: Don’t drink and road trip.
St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Montreal
Who knew that Winston Churchill was Irish? Flickr/Creative Commons photo by Sandra Cohen-Rose and Colin Rose.
It claims to be the oldest parade in North America. The 192nd Montreal St. Patrick’s Day Parade actually takes place after the big day this year, on Sunday, March 22. The action kicks off at noon at St. Catherine and Fort and proceeds down St. Catherine. (Side note: If you want to focus on the floats, avoid the area around Guy and de Maisonneuve, where an anarchist group is planning a protest at 1:30pm.)
Tir nan Og, Kingston
This Kingston pub is the hub of all kinds of Irish activities over the next week or so, including Irish dancers (March 13), tin whistle and bodhran workshops (March 14) and bards, face painting, live music and all kinds of other stuff (March 17).
If you’re staying close to home
An alternative to OC Transpo? Maybe! Flickr/Creative Commons photo by Michelle Tribe.
The Irish Society of the National Capital Region has organized a wide range of fun, including a ceili dinner/dance on March 14 at Blessed Sacrament Church in the Glebe. One of the other highlights of the weekend will be the St. Patrick’s Day Parade (also on Saturday, March 14), which will start at the corner of Elgin Street and Laurier Avenue West at 11am, head west on Laurier, then south on Bank Street to arrive at Lansdowne Park about 12:30pm.
And finally…
Photo courtesy of Shoreline Sightseeing.
It’s probably not really practical to get to Chicago in the next 24 hours, but keep this in mind for next year: the Chicago River is dyed a brilliant green each year (with eco-friendly vegetable dye) for one day on or around St. Patrick’s Day (this year it’s tomorrow, March 14). It all started in 1962, when the river was dyed as part of an effort to catch illegal sewage dumping. People liked it so much that it became a tradition. These days, St. Patrick’s Day cruises along the festively coloured river are among the most popular tickets in town.
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