5 Ways To Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day In Sarasota

SARASOTA, FL — St. Patrick’s Day is on a Friday this year. Entertainment districts in Sarasota 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 Sarasota to celebrate the March 17 holiday are:

• Molly Malone’s Irish Pub, 6586 Gateway Ave., Sarasota, Friday, 10 a.m. Drink specials all day and a bagpiper performs at 3 and 6:30 p.m.
• Shamrock Pub, 2257 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota, Friday, 3 p.m. This free block party offers a full line-up of music.
• Lemon Avenue Mall, 23 N. Lemon Ave., Sarasota, Friday, 4 p.m. Downtown’s Gator Club hosts a huge block party with live music and food vendors through midnight.
• Laurel Oak Country Club, 2700 Gary Player Blvd., Sarasota, Friday, 5:30 p.m. Enjoy traditional Irish food, holiday drink specials and entertainment.
• Brew Life Brewing, 5767 Beneva Road, Sarasota, Sunday, noon. Enjoy a traditional Irish breakfast during this St. Patrick’s Day Hangover Brunch.

With all the festivities planned, the Sarasota Police Department warns people to celebrate safely.

In a Facebook post, the agency suggests planning ahead by designating a sober driver, using a taxi or rideshare service, and taking the keys of any friends they see trying to drive drunk.

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:

• Sarasota Knights of Columbus, 4880 Fruitville Road, Sarasota, every Friday during Lent, 4:30 to 7 p.m.
• St. Martha Catholic Church, 200 N. Orange Ave., Sarasota, every Friday during Lent, 4:30 to 7 p.m.