To those who celebrate its intended meaning, St. Patrick's Day is a time of spiritual renewal and prayer for missionaries across the world. How dull.
We'd like to think that St. Patrick, the guy who brought Christianity to Ireland, would much prefer his namesake holiday involved a party, starting with the Phoenix St. Patrick's Day Parade and Faire. Since 1983, the parade has helped preserve and share the Emerald Isle's culture with the citizens of Arizona. This year it features marching bands, Irish step dancers, bagpipers and an appearance by the 2013 Arizona Irish Colleen, the most bonny lass in all the desert land. Following the parade is the fair, where green-garbed revelers can partake in one of the newer St. Patrick's Day traditions: heavy drinking. We should all be so lucky to be celebrated thus.
The free parade begins 10 a.m. Saturday, March 16, at Third Street south of Virginia Avenue. The fair will follow at Margaret T. Hance Park, 1134 North Central Avenue.
Sat., March 16, 10 a.m., 2013
