Boston is one of the best places to be for St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Boston held America’s first St. Patrick’s Day celebration in 1737 and has been a favorite for the celebration ever since. With more Irish pubs than any other place in the nation, Boston is definitely the place to be. Even though darties on and off campus can be fun, try to make it into Boston for one or more of these events, especially if you’re over 21!
1. The Dropkick Murphy’s Show. The Dropkick Murphy’s are Boston’s own Irish-punk group and BC students know them best as the group that sings “Shipping Up to Boston,” the song that we’ve all grown to love during our time here. They’re playing a series of shows Thursday-Sunday at the House of Blues in Boston. Tickets are sold out on their website, but you can still get tickets on StubHub! For more information check out the group’s website.
2. St. Patrick’s Day Celebration at the Lansdowne Pub. The Lansdowne Pub is one of the most popular pubs in Boston combining Irish culture and Boston heritage with a little Lansdowne Street Fair. They’re having their 5th annual St. Patrick’s Day weekend-long celebration with live music, authentic Irish food, and a huge beer selection. For more information, check out the Facebook event.
3. Saint Paddy’s Luck of the Irish Pub Crawl. The producers of the largest Pub Crawls are making history in Boston this year by extending their annual bar crawl from one night to a whole weekend. Over 15 bars are participating including Sissy K’s, The Vault, The Times Irish, and The Kinsale Irish Pub. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can purchase a four-day all-access pass. If not, you can just purchase a one-day pass! For more information, check it out here.
4. Go out for some hearty Irish fare. A number of restaurants in and around Boston have special, authentic Irish menus this weekend, so if you’re looking for some Irish grub, be sure to check it out! One of the restaurants is Durgin Park near Faneuil Hall, which is known for its traditional New England corned beef and cabbage dinners. Here is some more information on Durgin. For some other options, check out some of these restaurants from the 2012 Boston.com list.
5. St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The St. Patrick’s Day Parade, organized by the Allied War Veterans Council every year, is one of the biggest St. Patrick’s Day parades in the nation. More than a half-million people gather to watch it every year in South Boston, and you should definitely be one of them! The parade starts at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 16th beginning at the MBTA station on West Broadway and ending in Andrew Square. The two and a half hour parade features floats and dozens of marching bands and pipe bands from Ireland and across the US. For more information, check out the Parade’s website.
I hope you’re even more excited for St. Patrick’s Day weekend now that you know about some of the great St. Patrick’s related events going on in Boston! Be sure to break away from the BC bubble for a few hours and check some of them out! However you choose to celebrate though, be safe, have fun, and may the luck of the Irish be with you!
Sources:
http://gonewengland.about.com/cs/bostonattractions/a/aastpatboston.htm
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