When is St. Patrick’s Day in Idaho?

It’s on the same day it always falls.  March 17^th, though some cities with parades usually celebrate it on a Saturday before or after if it falls on a weekday.  This year, it’s a weekday.  A Tuesday, which means some diehards will have two celebrations.  Not so in Twin Falls, where parade sponsor, O’Dunken’s Draught House, will commemorate the actual calendar day with a Main Avenue parade at 4:00 p.m.

Amateur Night!

These events are primarily for the young.  We old-timers, got it out of our systems long ago, and we can’t stay out late.  My dad had ancestors out of West Clare, and he liked adult beverages, but on St. Patrick’s Day, he would go out for dinner and then go home.  When I was a young guy working in a newsroom, the local Sheriff was the grandson of Irish immigrants, and he gruffly called the day amateur night.

Behave and Get Off the Road

Still, I enjoy seeing other people celebrate, as long as they aren’t on the road going home when I’m driving to work on the 18^th!  I guess it seems redundant to mention designated drivers, or calling up a friend and asking for a ride, but keep in mind that in Ireland, the day was traditionally not a drunk’s holiday.  Only in recent decades did the country adopt parades, mostly for foreign tourists seeking a bit of what they perceived as Irish.

By the way, corned beef and cabbage originate in New York City, and not in Ireland.  And it’s awful!