03.12.13
Do Ya Feel Lucky?
St. Patrick’s Day is one of the biggest cultural holidays celebrated in the world. Although traditionally a holiday to honor the patron Saint Patrick for his work to establish the Irish church, St. Patrick’s Day has been transformed into a secular occasion and an excuse, I mean a privilege to party – which most people don’t have a problem with. The biggest celebration takes place in Dublin (duh), but plenty of other cities across the globe go green and get in on the action. Whether Irish by blood or just a fan of the occasion, here is a list of the top 5 US cities prime for St. Patty’s partying:
Boston
Boston, MA (pronounced BAAAAASTAN) houses the biggest concentration of Irish heritage in the US and celebrates St. Patty’s with an annual parade that shuts down the city. Held in South Boston or “Southie”, this predominantly Irish-American community’s parade attracts around 1 million spectators and is even broadcasted on live tv. Beantown pulls out all the stops with a parade full of floats, bagpipers, marching bands and a crowd full of people down to party in the most Irish city in America.
Chicago
Chicago; notable home of the Bulls, a signature style of pizza and one of the largest St. Patrick’ s Day celebrations in America. A popular St. P’s hot spot for the green tinted Chicago River, the city hosts a massive assortment of Irish-inspired floats, food and fun as one of the largest celebrations in the nation.
New York City
Take a bite out of the big green apple and head over to NYC and see how they party for St. Patty’s. The largest US parade in terms of attendance with 2 million attendees every year, NYC is also the longest running St. Patrick’s Day parade in the world. A five to six hour long ordeal, the parade starts at 44th Street, strolls past the astounding St. Patrick’s Cathedral and ends at 86th Street. An added bonus – the Empire State Building, one of the most recognized tourist attractions in New York City, illuminates the NYC skyline with green tinted floodlights.
Savannah, GA
A surprise to most, Savannah, GA is one of the best cities to get your leprechaun on. Traditionally reviewed as a classic city bursting with Southern refinement, Savannah has been celebrating St. Patty’s since 1813. Doing it big with attendance exceeding 400,000, the Savannah celebration lasts for 3 hours and incorporates a number of U.S military members – oh my word!
Dublin, OH
Can’t celebrate St. Patrick without a reference to the old country! Dublin, OH, one of ten Dublin’s in the US (who knew?), was appropriately named after a founding father’s birthplace. Embracing its Irish heritage, the tiny city celebrates with a mile long parade. One of the smaller scaled parades, Dublin, OH holds its ground with floats, bands, bagpipers and a giant Leprechaun…no, seriously, he’s called the Grand Leprechaun.
If you’re feeling the itch to break out your passport, London, Munich, Sydney and Toronto (England, Germany, Australia and Canada, respectively) have awesome international interpretations of the holiday and make our list as honorable mentions. Of course if you really want the full experience and want to party like a true Irishman or woman, ya gotta get to Dublin. If your pot o’ gold is delayed this year and you can’t make it across the Atlantic or to any of the US destination cities, don’t fear – local bars, parks and parades across America will still honor the tradition of St. Patrick’s Day and you can get your shamrock on without a boarding pass.