Let’s face it. Not everyone is lucky enough to be strolling through the streets of Dublin, Ireland with a Guinness in hand, stupidly smiling while listening to the authentic sounds of Celtic tunes.
Chances are as you scroll through your Instagram feed on St. Patrick’s day, you can’t help but feel a pang of jealously as you see one of your followers studying abroad in Ireland having the time of their life.
As the luck of the Irish may have it, you can create your own next-to-authentic St. Patrick’s Day experiences right here in the US of A for a fraction of the cost you would spend by traveling to the land of the luck.
No matter where you reside in the US, chances are there are famous parades, college day parties and Irish bars serving the best bangers and mash around. So hop in the car with your best friends for a St. Patrick’s Day Weekend adventure to check out the top spots in the U.S. to cheers together with a green beer in hand.
The Midwest: Chicago, Illinois and Oxford, Ohio
Photo courtesy of Judy Kyrkos
A bucket list trip for many avid St. Patrick’s day partiers, Chicago literally paints the town green for the weekend. Chi-town is famous for their tradition of dying the Chicago River green for more than 50 years along with creating one of the best St. Patrick’s Day atmospheres in the country. Start planning your bar crawl here…. but keep in mind most celebrations start the weekend before the big holiday.
As a longstanding tradition in Oxford, Ohio, Miami University students celebrate “Green Beer Day” by giving themselves a “personal day” (we’re talking 24 hours) filled with frolicking around fraternity houses, bar specials, and, you guessed it… green beer.
Photo courtesy of Katie Roberts
The South: Savannah, Georgia and Columbia, South Carolina
Photo courtesy of savannahsaintpatricksday.com
For 192 years, Savannah has hosted a St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the morning and an all-weekend street party with many live bands on Historic River Street in the evening.
University of South Carolina students thrive at the St. Pat’s Five Points celebration in the heart of downtown Columbia. This city-wide party includes 10K, 5K, and 1-mile races in the morning followed by many street concerts, southern food vendors, and dying the central fountain green.
Photo courtesy of columbiacvb.com
East Coast: Boston, Massachusetts
Photo courtesy of southbostonparade.org
St. Patrick’s day draws just about 600,000 people to the historic city of Boston. Fun fact: Boston held America’s first celebration of St. Patrick’s day in 1737. Want to make the trek to Boston but don’t want to deal with the crowds of the city? Check out other activities here. And if you are celebrating SPD correctly, chances are you’ll need to carb up before/during the big day. Check out this Boston bucket list for a list of must-visit restaurants.
Photo courtesy of southbostonparade.org
West: Denver, Colorado
Denver essentially shuts down for a morning parade followed by a day of what seems like all the bars competing for who puts on the best darty of the mile-high city. Here’s a list of the best places to check out.
With all this dartying comes a hangover, and with a hangover comes brunch. It would be a crime for a foodie to leave Denver without stopping at Denver Biscuit Company for mile-high biscuits.
So bring on the beer and the bagpipes! Sport your claddagh ring along with your best green, cheers to the Irish blessing, give thanks to your Irish ancestors, and make your way to the best St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in America.