We’re pouring the Guinness early this year, y’all. The Roman Catholic feast day of St. Patrick, now celebrated with green jello shots and sparkly four leaf clover headgear, has been observed by people in Ireland since the ninth or tenth century. Celebrate the rich history of the holiday — and the jello shots — starting this weekend.
Sat. March 10
Park Circle Block Party
The 15th annual St. Patrick’s Day party and parade starts at noon in the Olde Village of North Charleston. There will be live music across three stages including tunes from Capitol City Playboys, The Ectomorphs, Dustin P. Fanning and the Seconds Out, The Metro Tools, Karl Byrne, The Black Iron Gathering, Don Merckle and The Blacksmiths, Charleston Pipe Band, Danny May, and John Cusatis. There will be street vending and fare from Park Circle eateries, local food trucks, arts and crafts vendors, a kids zone, face painting, a mechanical bull, and more.
DejaVu II Punk and Drag
After the family friendly parade and party, leave the little ones at home and head to DejaVu II for a Punk n’ Drag show starting at 7:30 p.m. The show is hosted by notorious drag queen Leslie Elizabeth Lain and features performances by Horror Business, The Frizz, Silent Twin, and Hale Bopp Astronauts. It’s punk meets drag meets…leprechauns.
Fri. March 16
Leprechaun Bash at the Bar
The City of Goose Creek and Carnes Crossroads host a bash starting at 4 p.m. with music, food vendors, a leprechaun trap making station, balloon twisters, crafts, a gold hunt for ages two-eight starting at 5:30 p.m., and a visit from “Goose Creek’s largest leprechaun.”
Lovely & Lucky
Get crafty at Palmetto Clayground’s Friday evening class focusing on the creation of your very own four leaf clover. A $10 deposit is required to reserve your seat and $20.99 is due at the time of class. Don’t worry, you can still drink your green-colored libation; the event is BYOB.
Charleston St. Patrick’s Eve Lucky Hour
Don your best “Kiss me, I’m Irish,” shirt and head to JohnKing Bar and Grill for a pre-party with fellow lads and lasses. Enjoy drink specials from 5 to 10 p.m. and prepare your body to do it all over again the next day.
Tommy Condon’s St. Patrick’s Day Celebration
Celebrate St. Patrick all damn weekend at Tommy Condon’s starting Friday through Sunday. This is the Irish joint’s 35th annual fete, so you know it’s gonna be good. They open early at 9 a.m. and promise to party til the “wee hours.” They’ll have music by Emily Deahl, Judson McKinney, The Charleston Pipe Band, and Christian Carroll and the Bograts; feast on the Irish classics on the menu like Irish potato chowder, Shepherd’s pie, corned beef, and more.
Sat. March 17
St. Paddy’s Day Block Party in West Ashley
Follow the rainbow to Avondale for this sure to be ragin’ annual block party from 3 to 10 p.m. DJ RJ starts spinning at 3:30 p.m. and Melted Velvet takes the stage at 7 p.m. They’ll have a “Green Bee”r and a car bomb Bomb tent along with Guinness, Guinness Blonde, Smithwicks and Miller Lite. Entry is only $5.
Saint Patrick’s Day Parade
Celebrate the holiday with a traditional parade on the peninsula starting at 8 a.m. The day will begin with a celebratory mass at St. Patrick’s Church (134 St. Philip St.) and the parade kicks off at the corner of King and Radcliffe streets at 10 a.m. Marchers proceed down King to Broad with the parade conclusion at the Cathedral of St. Johns. The parade includes local schools, step dancers, fiddlers, fire trucks, military units, local pro team mascots and “some of the Lowcountry’s most famous Irish residents.”
Shamrock the Dock
Shimmy on down to Shem Creek for the annual daylong Shamrock the Dock, the biggest party on the creek. Listen to Irish bagpipers, Moonlight Ale, Ellen Drive, and Saluda Shoal while you sip on $4 16 oz. green aluminum Miller Lite and Coors Lite, $5 Guinness Imperial pints, and $6 Irish car bombs.
St. Paddy’s Day Bar Crawl
Nothing says St. Patrick’s Day like a bar crawl. Start at The Brick any time between 1 and 4 p.m. and receive a scorecard which will tell you the rest of the participating bars — at each bar, order up their drink specials and receive access to priority entry if any get close to capacity. The After Party At Kingdom starts at 7 p.m. and the first 250 crawlers who have their scorecards marked from all participating locations will receive a free T-shirt. All crawlers who complete their scorecard by 8:30 p.m. will be entered inot a raffle for more than $1,000 in prizes. May the road rise up to meet you, crawlers.
Seanachai
Arguably the coolest (and most legit) Irish bar around, Seanachai will keep doin’ what they do best: celebrating the luck of the Irish. They’ll have food and drink specials and live music and will be open for a hangover brunch on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. .
Mac’s Place St. Paddy’s Bash
The Irish Pub will open its doors at 10 a.m. and will have food and drink specials all day and all night including green beer, frozen green drinks, and shamrock mimosas, plus entertainment from Danny May, Marci Shore Irish Fiddle Duo, Daniel Patrick, and The Good News. From 1 to 3 p.m. 2 Gingers Irish Whiskey will be onsite with tastings, specials, and giveaways.
St. Patrick’s Day with the Taylor Music Group
Taylor Music Group (TMG), a leading Charleston arts organization focused on the blending of classical and folk music present a concert featuring Na Fidleiri, Charleston’s renowned Celtic fiddling ensemble, with cameo appearances by members of the Taylor Festival Choir starting at 7 p.m. at the Circular Congregational Church.
St. Patrick’s Day Party on the Patio
LG’s by the Creek offers food and drink specials all day along with live music from Soul Fish from 1 to 4 p.m. and The Krays from 8 p.m. to midnight.
Kirill x Carter Cruise St. Pat’s Day
If you’re more of a clubber than a pub-er, head to Trio starting at 10 p.m. for a night of “debauchery” with the “craziest DJ in the world” Kirill. Don’t want to wait in line? You can purchase a $25 line skip pass that enters you into a raffle to party with Kirill and Carter Cruise before the show.
St. Fatty’s Day
From noon til midnight celebrate national drinking day AND the one year anniversary of Fatty’s Beer Works. Immortal Lobster will be there with eats and The Double Naught Spies provide the tunes.
Irish Fest and Fireworks
Spend St. Paddy’s with the Charleston Battery as they open the 2018 season against FC Cincinnati. They’ll have beer specials (head to The Three Lions Pub located on the second floor), Irish dancing, and post-game fireworks. The first 500 fans will receive a special edition Charleston Battery Irish Fest T-shirt.
Frothy Beard St. Patrick’s Day Party
Frothy’s taproom will be “shamrockin” all day with live music, corned beef and cabbage, and beer specials.
Rusty Bull Brewing Roast & Toast
This will be the brewery’s first oyster roast with $10 buckets while supplies last. If you wear green, you will receive $1 off all beers, and if you’re a member of the Mug Club you’ll get first dibs on this year’s release of the Berry Stomp Beer. There will be jams from Fusion Jonez and, in addition the oysters, eats from OH YAH BBQ (including corned beef and hash).
The Washout
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on Folly at The Washout with live music and green beer all day.
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