Downtown Dover is going green in preparation for the 17th Annual St. Patrick’s Day parade that rolls down Loockerman Street at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 13.
There’s more to the holiday than the parade, though. There’s a shindig with the folks who are Irish every day of the year, the Irish Society of Delmarva, and leprechaun artwork for kids at the Biggs Museum. Then there’s live music straight from Ireland, bar shenanigans and adult tricycle races.
St. Patrick’s Day events start tonight and run through the actual holiday Wednesday, March 17.
Here’s how to celebrate:
Dover’s 17th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade
The parade has been canceled, and will not be re-scheduled, due to weather.
Live music and block party
Saturday, March 13, Sunday, March 14, and Wednesday, March 17
Sheridan’s Irish Pub & Restaurant, Smyrna
Sheridan’s celebrations stretch out to cover the weekend through St. Patrick’s Day, starting with the most ridiculous: The block party. Starting at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 13, a heated tent outside of the bar will be serving green beer and keeping the dance floor full with DJ Jay. That is until the adult tricycle races take center stage at about 5:30 p.m. The band Glass Onion will take over the entertainment shift after the cycle champs are crowned.
The party continues after Smyrna’s parade Sunday, March 14, with Irish musician Tom Brett playing songs from his homeland. He returns at 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, and warms up crowds with Irish fare before handing them over to Trailer Park Casanovas at 8 p.m.
Annual Smyrna St. Patrick’s Day Parade
2 p.m. Sunday, March 14
Route: North Elementary School on North Main Street, south on Main Street, right onto South Street, ending at Market Street Plaza.
For information on the Smyrna parade, call parade chair Frank Furr at 270-1119.
Beoga, traditional Irish band
3 p.m. Sunday, March 14
Cooldog Concert Series (address provided with RSVP), near Kenton
Cost: $15 suggested donation, $10 for ages 10 to 18 and active military
www.cooldogconcerts.com
Beoga (Irish word for lively) is happy to take traditional Irish music out of their homeland, probably because it’s so well received. The Wall Street Journal called them “the most exciting new traditional band to emerge from Ireland this century,” and Irish Philadelphia called them “an auditory high-wire act without a net.”
Although the foundation of their sound is bound in Irish tradition, it weaves its way into blues and jazz, with a pinch of New Orleans. Apparently, that’s what happens when you mix dueling accordions, piano, bodhran, fiddle and vocals.
