Where to Get Your Green On in Maplewood

Ah, St. Patrick's Day, a brief respite in Lent to slake one's thirst and dance a reel. And Maplewood is as anxious to belly up to the bar and wear the green as any other town.

As you might imagine, St. Paddy's Central in Maplewood will be St. James's Gate Publick House on Maplewood Avenue. The gates at The Gate open at 8 a.m. for Irish breakfast—a menu including corned beef and cabbage, shepherd's pie and and fish and chips that runs straight through the day until closing time at 2 a.m.

Bagpipers will be on hand throughout the day at The Gate. Yes, even at 8 a.m.

And if early morning bagpipe music is your thing, you can best the Gate by 10 minutes and catch the bagpiper over at Clinton School. Every year, a bagpiper leads the children indoors on St. Patrick's Day. Brace yourself for loads of cuteness, mostly dressed in little green duds.

Chris Farrow at Cent'Anni may be a native Liverpudlian, but he is not one to be left out of a good party opportunity. Beginning at 8 a.m., Cent'Anni will be offering St. Patrick's Day hearty Irish breakfasts featuring specials such as Eggs Benedict or Irish omelet, along with their "famous" Cent'Anni Bloody Mary. The bar specials at Cent'Anni will start at 11 a.m. and include Irish stew, corned beef and cabbage, and other seasonal favorites. Music provided by DJ JerseyFox. Wonder if he plays bagpipe? (And shouldn't he change his name to MC JerseyFox for the day?)

For wee ones, a more suitable, non-alcoholic celebration will be going on at Express Yourself Studios on Springfield Avenue where green may be the paint color of choice for a St. Patrick's Day Arts & Crafts Drop-In class from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

And, may we remind you, St. Patrick's Day is a holy day of obligation in Ireland—for Catholics—as it is the feast day of Ireland's national saint. The Irish themselves head to Mass on St. Patrick's Day, and if you want to be authentically Irish you would do well to attend one of the two Masses offered at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church at 8 a.m. and 12 p.m.

Know of any other St. Patrick's Day celebrations? Contact me!