Tampa 6th Best Place To Celebrate St. Patrick's Day: Survey

TAMPA, FL — Tampa is one of the best places in the country for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, according the website WalletHub.

It ranked sixth-place, in fact, coming in behind such communities as Boston, Buffalo and Omaha. Philadelphia and Pittsburg also topped it. Considering WalletHub’s ranking involved an analysis of 100 of the country’s largest cities, sixth place is nothing to sneeze at.

The website dedicated to all things personal finance compared cities based on 17 different metrics, including number of Irish pubs, the weather forecast for the big green day, average beer price and number of parties and festivities per capital surrounding the holiday. When all was said and done, Tampa managed to top some rather big contenders when it comes to holiday festivities, including New York City, Chicago, New Orleans and Atlanta.

While topping some of the country's biggest cities is a big deal, that sixth-place ranking isn’t one Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn would like to see stand for long.

“It’s no secret that St. Patrick’s Day is my favorite of the year and Tampa knows how to do it right,” Buckhorn said. “Whether is the Rough Riders St. Patrick’s Day Parade or my River O’ Green, there is a good time to be had by all. Keep your eye on us; we hope to top this list next year.”

Tampa did take a healthy lead over other Florida towns. Orlando earned 29th-place honors, St. Petersburg came in 35th and Miami is way down in the 74th spot.

One of the individual metrics that boosted Tampa to the front of the pack was its second-place ranking for Irish pubs and restaurants per capita.

The Rough Riders’ St. Patrick’s Day Parade takes place Saturday, March 12 at 7 p.m. along 7th Avenue in Ybor City. The family friendly event kicks off Tampa’s holiday festivities. Buckhorn’s own Mayor’s River O’Green Fest takes place at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park Saturday, March 19 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. During the celebration, the Hillsborough River will run green with St. Patrick’s Day spirit and attendees can also expect lots of live entertainment, kids crafts and games and Irish tastings.

To find out more about the Mayor’s River O’Green, visit the city’s website. To check out the full WalletHub rankings, visit the publication online.

Photo courtesy of the Tampa Police Department Facebook page

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