Since I was born and raised in Massachusetts, went to school in Boston and have been (rightly or wrongly) accused of being a "Mass-hole", St. Patrick's Day has a very special place in my heart and on my calendar. It's the perfect holiday as it has a "dress up" component like Halloween, a once a year menu option like Thanksgiving, and the drinking/party atmosphere of New Year's Eve.
It is also the perfect holiday to spend the morning watching parades with your family and then head out to catch up with your friends for a good old fashioned pub crawl to end the evening. Here is a list of our favorite places where we can celebrate our local community during the day and then explore our neighborhood's finest (and diviest?) drinking establishments well into the night. Let us know if we missed any, have a very happy St. Patrick's Day and always remember to drink responsibly.
Take your family to the South Boston Parade. It is one of the biggest and most fun St Patrick's Day parades in the country; running from the Broadway T Station and ending up at Andrew's Square
Take your friends on the Brighten Pub Crawl for a Jameson at the Green Briar, a PBR and Fernet at the Brighton Bodega, a Guinness at Porter Belly's and custom cocktails at the Irish Village
Take your family to the Dyeing of the Chicago River. Go to the east side of Michigan Ave for the best view and don't worry, they've been doing this for 40 years and it's perfectly safe for the environment
Take your friends on a sports themed pub crawl across Chicago playing pool at the Game Room, ice curling at Kaiser Tiger, ping-pong at Parson's, skee-ball at Slippery Slope and turtle racing at Big Joe's
Take your family to the oldest St Patrick's Day parade in the country. Starting in 1762, this year marks the 258th anniversary. The route goes all along 5th Ave but be sure to get there early
Tired of beer? Take your friends on a distillery tour of Brooklyn. Try the gin at Greenhook, the rye at New York Distilling Co, the rum at the Noble Experiment and the whiskey at King's County
Take your family to the 2nd largest St Patrick's Day parade in the US with over 23,000 participants and marching bands. Then be sure to stop by the Carnegie Library for more family fun
Known as a "shot & beer" town, there are some truly great pubs to crawl with your friends. Go to Grist House to Kelly's to Hidden Harbor to Piper's ending the night at Bob's Garage
Take your family to the parade but be sure to check out the Irish festival near City Hall from 10am-5pm that includes Irish music, dancing and a never ending supply of beer
Challenge your friends on this SF pub crawl that features bocce at The Hidden Vine, old NES games at Soda Popinski's, giant plinko at the Playroom and pinball at The Willows
This lightweight jacket is ideal for all-day adventures and slips easily into your backpack when the sun comes out
The Heritage Short is designed with a water repellent fabric that will wick off the rain as well as the random spilled drink
Our Sea Silk collection is designed to keep you warm and comfortable from early morning parades to last call.
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