Show Your Irish

Hey there ... Patrick, is it? We can all be saints in green on St. Paddy's Day.

It’s the luckiest time of the year. I’m not talking about our recent forecast, which (finally) predicts a prolonged period of snow. No, we’re all lucky because one of the happiest holiday weekends of the year, St. Patrick’s Day, rapidly approaches. St. Patrick’s Day in the Valley is much like St. Patrick’s Day throughout the rest of the world, but at higher altitude. That’s an important factor to remember. You can expect the green beer to be flowing and vaguely familiar Irish tunes to ring out throughout Vail Village. You’ll probably even run into various bevies of beauties handing out beads and promotional shots of whiskey. But there are four St. Patrick’s celebrations you should have on your radar.

• Saturday night at the Sandbar, The Atomic, “Denver’s favorite party band”, will bring their brand of radioactive rock to the Valley’s rowdiest bar. A regular party at Sandbar is a sight to behold, but a St. Paddy’s party combined with the infectious music of The Atomic? Well, it should be downright wild. Expect to be dancing, provided you have enough room to move.

• On Monday, March 17 (St. Patrick’s Day proper), Paddy’s Sports Bar & Grill in Eagle-Vail will be hosting its 24th Annual St. Paddy’s Day Celebration. This is an all-day affair (11 a.m. to 10 p.m.), and you know it has to be good because a) they’ve been doing it for 24 years and b) “Paddy’s” is the name of the establishment. Look for all manner of drink specials and we strongly recommend you try the delicious fish and chips.

• Also on March 17, the lovely little hamlet of Minturn will be hosting its First Annual St. Patrick’s Day Explosion. The event kicks off at 8 p.m. and will feature a full fireworks display, live music, business open houses, dinner specials and prizes. Check it out and say you were there at the beginning. Honestly, if you’ve never been to Minturn, this is a perfect opportunity to discover this historic and beautiful town and the many wonderful businesses that reside there.

• However, for a true St. Patrick’s Day celebration, you need to head to the Valley’s true Irish establishment, Finnegan’s Wake Irish Pub in Avon. Finnegan’s will be throwing a four-day St. Patrick’s Day Weekend Bash, starting Friday, March 14 and continuing straight through Monday, March 17. Enjoy Irish favorites played by Big Paddy and Finnegan’s regular Jonny Mogambo as well as the music of Bluffett, the premiere Jimmy Buffet cover band. The Reed School of Irish Dance will be on hand to perform authentic Irish jigs alongside a traditional Irish bagpiper. Guinness, Bushmills and Bailey’s Girls will mingle with the crowd and give away authentic hockey jerseys, prizes and drink specials. If you really want to do St. Patrick’s Day right, you really can’t beat Finnegan’s four-day celebration of everything Irish.

Drink is a factor of any St. Patrick’s Day celebration, and it is important to take some precautions. Moderation in all things and remember you are at altitude, which means you will become dehydrated faster ergo it will be much easier to become tipsy. Regardless, there are always those who imbibe too heavily (I’m looking in your direction Spring Breakers) but luckily, Vail has a wonderful and free bus system. Use it to get around this weekend. Schedules are available at www.vailgov.com. If you miss the bus, give High Mountain Taxi a call at 970-524-5555. High Mountain operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Colorado State Police, along with 60 other law enforcement agencies, will be stepping up DUI patrols and checkpoints for the holiday weekend from Friday, March 14 through Tuesday, March 18. If you can’t drive, please don’t risk ruining a wonderful weekend. Plum wants you to have a safe and happy St. Patrick’s Day.