St. Patricks Day St. Louis Missouri

For a lot of people St. Patrick's Day means eating corned beef and cabbage. Some get dressed up in green, and that's it. The day passes like any other day. This is not the case in St. Louis. We start celebrating on the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day There are many events for all kinds of people. And you can still wear green, and eat corned beef and cabbage, if that's all you have in mind to do. If not, how about the 30th Annual St Patrick's Day Parade Run?

Nothing like a 5 mile run through the streets of Dogtown to get ready for your traditional St. Patty feast. The route opens at 7:30 in the morning.March 15th is on Saturday, so this years run is expected to have about 7,000 participants. Officials are still looking for volunteers. They are currently looking for Run Marshals and people to run the water stations. The run will begin at 9:00 am.

Our parade is a spectacle. St Louis boasts one of the top St. Patrick's Day parades in the country. We we will have giant cartoon character balloons, and marching bands. There will be clowns. Add to that the 5000 plus marchers and wow! With over 250,000 expected spectators it will be a party. Smiling Irish faces in a sea of green. The parade will Start on 18th Street and end on Broadway downtown. It starts at noon. http://www.irishparade.org/parade/

What is St. Patrick's Day without food? There is the "Meet the Irish" dinner to be held at the Hilton at the Ballpark this year.It will be held the evening before the run on Friday the 14th. It is a formal event and reservations are needed. However for those of us not wanting to go formal, we can eat at Irish Village. It will be open before the parade. And it will stay open until after the run. Hot dogs and hamburgers will be served. Booths will also be open from some of our terrific local restaurants. Irish village is supposed to be at Kiener Plaza this year.

As for what to do, there won't be a shortage of events. Take your pick, don some green and get going. For my family it may be a trip to Malones. It's our neighborhood Pub and Grill. Where potatoes will be on the menu along with the corned beef and cabbage. Green milk for the kiddies, green beer for the grown-ups. If you're in St. Louis it's fun for all!