5 Ways To Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day In The Bradenton Area

BRADENTON, FL — St. Patrick’s Day is on a Friday this year. Entertainment districts in the Bradenton area will be swimming in Kelly green, and perhaps flashing red and blue lights if people don’t behave themselves.

And devout Catholics may have to consult their parish priest before they dig into a plate of corned beef and cabbage.

Some of the places in Manatee County to celebrate the March 17 holiday are:

• Freckled Fin Irish Pub, 5337 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, Friday, 9 a.m. Enjoy drink specials, free swag and live music, including Acoustic Thunder and Josh Gilton.
• G.T. Bray Park, 5502 33rd Ave. Drive W., Bradenton, Friday, starting at 10 a.m. Family-friendly St. Patrick’s Day activities are set up throughout the park.
• Motorworks Brewing, 1014 9th Street W., Bradenton, 10 a.m. to midnight. Enjoy live music and green beer, including the leprechaun-friendly brew, “This is a Light Lager.”
• Ed’s Tavern Lakewood Ranch, 10719 Rodeo Drive, Bradenton, Friday, 1 p.m. This family-friendly event showcases Celtic dancers, bagpipers, balloon makers, axe throwers, magicians and more.
• 3 Keys Brewing & Gastrobrew, 2505 Manatee Ave. E., Bradenton, Friday, 7 to 10 p.m. The New World Celts will perform.

With all the festivities planned, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office warns people to lock their vehicle doors when they park.

“We wish you the luck of the Irish, but don’t rely on it too much,” the agency wrote in a Facebook post. “Remember to lock your vehicles.”

Devout Catholics abstain from eating meat on Fridays during Lent, a sacrifice that recognizes Jesus’ death on the cross on a Friday. Catholics in several suburban Chicago towns can eat the traditional fare without guilt, but the Diocese of Chicago is holding firm.

Whether revelers in cities like heavily Catholic Chicago, one of the most St. Patrick-y cities in the country, go all in with the holiday staple corned beef and cabbage could come down to whether they get special dispensation from the diocese.

The Diocese of Venice’s Bishop Frank J. Dewane is giving Catholics a pass for St. Patrick’s Day by allowing them to eat meat Friday.

“The faithful are encouraged to choose another day in the same week to abstain from meat and to perform some other penance or work of charity on March 17 to assist in their spiritual Lenten journey,” the diocese wrote in a Facebook post.

There are several Lenten fish fries going on for Catholics who want to play it by the rules, including the following:

• St. Joseph Catholic Church, 3100 26th Street W., Fridays during Lent, 4 to 7 p.m.
• Our Lady of the Angels, 12905 State Road 70 E. , Lakewood Ranch, Fridays during Lent, 4:30 to 7 p.m.
• Metro Diner, 4726 Cortez Road W., Bradenton, all day Fridays.