Parade: Kick off Irish week with the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, March 12th from 12:30 to 1:30. Starts at the King County Administration Building and goes north along 4th Avenue. Ends at Westlake Center, then hop the Monorail for closing ceremonies at Seattle Center.
Exhibition: NW Women's Show, March 18th - 20th, $12. The annual cootie-fest comes back to Seattle. A spectacular event with over 600 vendors, tons of speakers, lots of samples and free goodies, and inspiration to take home. Whatever your needs are about being a women, these folks have got your ovaries covered. ۰ Else, the Puget Sound Wedding Show, March 20th, free. So much to decide, so here's where you start the journey of the big event. ۰ Else, if all of your womanly needs are not met, try retail therapy at Nordstrom Spring Fashion Show, March 17th, $60+. Do the haute thing and see what's new for this spring season.
Activity: 21st Annual Henry Weinhard’s St. Patrick’s Day Dash, $30. Go walk or run for the Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation. Begins at 9:00 a.m. sharp at Seattle Center and ends at Safeco Field – 3-1/2 miles. ۰ Else, The Big Climb for Leukemia, March 20th, $35. This is a timed run up 1,311 stairs, all the way up the Bank of America Tower (the tallest building in Seattle.) This is a real lung buster, but a euphoric reward for making it all the way.
Festival: Seattle Center Irish Week Festival. March 15th-17th. Go dig up your Irish genealogy or learn about Irish history and culture with interactive exhibits. Delight to the sounds of authentic Irish music direct from County Cork, Ireland while enjoying traditional food and drink. They’ve even got something for the kiddies.
Sports: The Seattle Gaels club is looking for a few good men and women for their Hurling team. Go experience the Irish sport that gave birth to hockey and then go celebrate your wins over a pint of Guinness. Training begins in April. ۰ Else, Cross Dress Bowling, March 13th, $15. Why? Well, why not? How many chances will you ever get to bowl in a mini and high-heels? You've got the legs to pull it off!
Dance: Franklin High School Big Band Dance, May 19th, 8 PM, $20/couple. It doesn't get any more old-school than this, the way grandparents kicked it up in pre-WWII days. It's hard to beat the full and exuberant sounds of an orchestra where you can feel the passion of the musicians, and the dancing actually requires a degree of coordination instead of some random flagellation of the limbs.
Spoken Word: University Poets at University Barnes & Noble, March 15th, free. Get out the beret. Poetry from local authors covering the trite and simple to the complexities of the soul. Get deep sans chemicals.
Party: Georgetown Spring Fling, March 19th, $5. A benefit by the Pacific Northwest Museum of Motorcycling, an old fashion get together of bands, BBQ, and beer. Sometimes, these low-key events are the best, where you can just hang back, chill out, and enjoy real people.
Film: "Blue Vinyl" shown at the Queen Anne Community Center, 1:30 PM, March 19th, free. Think vinyl is safe? You'll think again before plopping your fanny into a car seat. Child care is available ۰ Else, the 10th annual Jewish Film Festival begins March 12th. Films not about being Jewish, but films from a Jewish perspective.
Organization: If you're Irish more than one day of the year, then get connected to all things Irish at The Irish Heritage Club of Seattle. They also sponsor concerts, plays, lectures, movies, as well as parties and other social events.
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St. Patrick's Day. You might think St. Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland, gained fame for driving the snakes out of Ireland but that’s just a long told urban legend. The truth is this day celebrates the death of St. Patrick, a Britain, who after being kidnapped by Irish raiders and whisked off to Ireland, spent years in exile and eventually escaped back to Britain. Guided by angels in his dreams, he undertook religious study and returned to Ireland to graciously convert the pagan Irish to the Christian way; not by eradicating their culture but by incorporating much of their culture with Christianity. The first St. Patrick’s day parade was held on March 17, 1762 as a way to reconnect Irish soldiers to their roots. Today, this holiday is celebrated in many countries as a good excuse to wear green and get drunk on Guinness. For those with Irish blood, it’s still a day to reconnect to our roots. So put on your green shirt and shamrocks (or dare to get pinched on your hiney) and head on out for any one of Seattle’s celebrations.
Pub Crawls: Do an Irish pub crawl downtown through Kells, Fado and the Owl n’ Thistle for tall pints of Guinness, Irish eats and jiggy music; else head over to Ballard and Fremont to crawl through Connor Byrnes, The Old Peculiar, The Dubliner and Reading Gaol.
If you’d rather be out for a night of excellent Celtic rock, then head to Neumo’s for the Paperboys show, $15. They never miss delivering an energy-packed lively and humorous night of music, singing and getting your jig on.
Irish Reels: At Seattle Center March 16-17 features various independent films by Irish film makers. Also runs March 14-15 at Harvard Exit.
