Philadelphia Prepares for St. Patrick’s Day This Friday
Whether you have Irish blood or just like to pretend for the day, St. Patrick’s Day is a big deal for anyone who likes to have a good time. St. Paddy’s is the time to wear something kelly green (if you don’t want to get pinched, that is), sup on corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes, and to imbibe generously in the spirit of the eponymous Catholic saint. This year, St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Friday, meaning that most people don’t have to wake up early the next morning and go to work. Realistically, this means that the masses can let the liquor flow and not worry about how late they sleep in the next morning to ease their hangovers! Philadelphia’s bars and pubs are gearing up for a March 17th that’s bigger and wilder than it’s been in a long time.
Philadelphia has a tradition of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in high style. With the holiday falling on a Friday this year, revelers will be out in force.
CBS3 interviewed Christine Benner of barcrawls.com who predicts that, unsurprisingly, bar crawls are going to be a tremendous trend this Friday. Philadelphia hosts what is called the Irish Stroll, she says. It kicks off at the Fox and Hound bar in Center City and wends its way throughout Center City, Old City, and even a few Chinatown venues. If you are looking to get well and truly snookered with a bunch of friends, the Stroll might be right up your alley.
If you aren’t aiming to move around quite so much, know that most of the bars in the city will be featuring special drinks for the holiday. Daniel Tyrell with Red Owl Tavern told CBS about the special Irish Palm Cocktail: “It features a lemongrass vodka with Midori lemon liquor, coconut milk and the drink is finished off with a sumac mist. It’s a bright green cocktail.”
Bartender Daniel Kulisek of Square 1682 says that he’s prepared for a crowd on St. Patrick’s Day. “You’ll end up getting more people out and about at night, whereas most years where it falls during the week you see there’s like a push during the day but you don’t really see much of a late night crowd. I have a feeling this year’s going to be a lot different,” Kulisek said.
