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St. Patrick's Day - A Great Celebration: Sandpoint Blog

By Gary Lirette

Services for Real Estate Pros

March 14, 2011 06:17 AM

Kiss me, I'm Irish

In a quick search for St. Patrick's Day parades on the www.st-patricks-day.com website, I noted that there were none in North Idaho. What! I may not be remembering my history well, but don't the Irish have this thing for potatoes? Where are the best potatoes from? It just seems a natural that with both places beginning with the letter "I" and having this potato connection, seems we in Idaho should have something going on for St. Paddy's Day. So, okay, there are some things going on down south in Boise and Treasure Valley, and the Idaho potato commission has some recipes (www.idahopotato.com/st_patrick). About the closest we get is Twin Falls which has a parade and run. Last weekend there was a parade in Coeur d'Alene, but c'mon, nothing this weekend?

I don't get it. Anecdotally we have tons of Irish here. My girlfriend is O'Hally O'Halloran, my fav broker and friend is Merry Brown-Hayes, and our (self-proclaimed) Queen of Ireland and new Sandpoint Chamber CEO is Kate McAlister. We have a great Irish pub that even makes its own beer, owned by an Irish-American: MickDuff's. I mean, seriously, Erin Go Bragh!

So, I surfed MickDuff's website and didn't see anything special going on for this week, but out in Hope, Idaho, at Murphy's Pub, there is a shindig happening. Here is what goes on for March 17^th:

March 17: Sandpoint - KPND Ski & Board Party At At Murphy's, 204 W. Main St. in Hope 5 - 8pm. Sponsored by Laughing Dog Brewing and hosted by Jonny Knight and Mike Deprez 208-264-5905

March 17: Sandpoint - Not Qu ite Punk At the Panida's Little Theater on First Ave. 7pm with their unique blend of ‘not' punk music. $5. 208-263-9191

March 17: Sandpoint - 3rd Annual St. Paddy's Day Beer Pairing Dinner Trinity at City Beach, 58 Bridge St., hosts the 3rd annual St. Paddy's Day Beer Pairing Dinner at 5:30 p.m. It's no secret that the Trinity crew has never tasted a Laughing Dog beer they didn't like, so Chef Jenness and staff will prepare the finest in New Mexican cuisine to pair with Laughing Dog's award-winning brews. Enjoy a five-course tasting menu and five brews; cost is $35 per guest and reservations are required. 208-255-7558

I have visited many places that have great celebrations on St. Patrick's Day, and this time of year I'm waxing nostalgic for some green beer, corned beef, and clover this and that.

Why, you may ask, does a Cajun boy concern himself with this very Irish (really Irish-American) celebration. Well, the French and the Irish do have that commonality: distaste for the English. But seriously, New Orleans has a great party every year around March 17.

I've celebrated the event in several great cities: Chicago, New Orleans, Savannah, Boston, Washington D.C., and San Francisco. These cities were listed among the choices in the Ten Best Places to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day in National Geographic Traveler, and in 10 Best St. Patrick's Day Festivals in the U.S. in Beer Taste Test's online site.

While celebrations are all good and fun, the best parts of St. Patrick's Day are the parades. Again, Savannah (ranked 4^th) and Boston (ranked 1^st) are the sites I have enjoyed that were touted in this article, America's Best St. Patrick's Day Parades featured in US News.

MSNBC prints that New Orleans has the 5th best St. Patrick's Day party in the world in this 10 St. Patrick's Day Parades. One place they say has a great St. Paddy's is Montreal, one of my favorite places. Who knew. Guess that goes on the bucket list.

St. Patrick's Day became a party in America but is celebrated similarly around the world anywhere the Irish settled. This makes sense in Australia, the U.S., and Canada, but a gigantic population settled in Argentina and the celebration there is legendary.

To learn all about this patron saint of Ireland, visit the Wiki Saint Patrick's Day.

St. Patrick's Day in Savannah, Georgia

St. Patrick's Day in Savannah, Georgia on River St.

Gary Lirette, featured in Where To Retire magazine and host of the Tuesday noon local radio shows: North Idaho Business as well as North Idaho Arts.

Gary Lirette