Get Your Green On This St. Patrick's Day

Let the festivities begin!

Starting on Saturday, nearby pubs and towns will be getting their green on, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in the traditional Irish way. Whether you’re looking for wholesome family fun or getting ready to spend time with some traditional hooch, Patch has found five ways to spend the holiday.

1. Bring the kids over to Newport on Saturday morning to watch the 55^th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The two-hour spectacle takes off from the corner of Broadway and Bull streets at 11 a.m. sharp, rain or shine. Family-friendly and a lot of fun, the parade features musical acts ranging from marching bands to pipe bands to traditional Irish fife and drum corps bands. Three clown posses will keep the little ones smiling and a host of local and regional police, fire, fraternal and reenactment organizations will march as well. Pick a spot on the sidewalk between Broadway and where the parade concludes before the intersection of Carroll and Harrison Avenues (get there early though), with sunny forecast and high of about 50 degrees predicted, the streets are sure to fill up quick this year.
2. Head down Rhode Island's oldest Irish pub in Matunuck for a true authentic Irish food and drink experience. Starting tonight, Tara's Joyce Family Pub will be featuring Irish music and as always, delicious Guinnesses and black and tans, available in pint or 20-ounce glasses. Boatcake, an acuoustic duo pefroming hits from the '70s through present day, hits the stage at 9 p.m. tonight. On Sunday from 3 p.m. to close, Revel's Glen, an Irish band from County Donegal will delight patrons. The pub opens at 10 a.m. on Thursday with a menu featuring Irish soda bread, $5 hommade corned beef sandwiches and slew of other traditional favorites from Guinness beef stew to Smithwick's battered fish and chips to Irish toasties. Enjoy a Guinness anytime of day. Guest musicians will play rock and roll and traditional Irish covers all day, followed by Brian Twohey from 3 p.m. to 1 a.m.
3.  Outfitted with a larger-than-life glowing shamrock, The Mews Tavern, located at Main St., will be offering patrons a varitey of Irish splendor all night. At its Celtic Pub on the restaurant's third floor, all you Riverdance enthusiasts can dance around to the traditional rhythms of Dave Cadin from 5 to 8 p.m. The Choos take the stage at 9 p.m. and will sprinkle a mix of traditional Celtic tunes into their acoustic cover jam session. Since it's Thursday, patrons will be able to enjoy the two-for-one burger special, with a VIP card of course, but if you really want to get festive, try washing some $2 corned beef Rueben sliders down with a Guinness or Rogue Irish Lager black and tan. The kitchen will offer a host of traditional Irish lunch and dinner specialties throughout the day.
4. Just up the road, Fat Belly’s Pub at 333 Main St. is an Irish restaurant and bar where all you Irish-for-a-day can be sure to soak up the holiday spirit starting at 9 a.m. on Thursday. All day long the kitchen will feature a host of Irish staples from a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner to lamb shepherd’s pie, Reuben and pastrami sandwiches, fish and chips, Guinness stew and a Fat Belly Sandwich composed of roast beef, onions and horseradish sauce. Wash your Irish meal down with a green beer, shandy, Irish coffee drink or an Irish black and tan. The bar will also be running $2 and $3 bottled-beer specials all day. Once you’re fed, watered and ready to do the jig, you can dance along to the music of Contraband, an Irish music group, 12 to 4 p.m. Mance, a local cover musician, will take over from 8 p.m. to midnight. Be sure to check out the food and drink specials at the Warwick location on Old Forge Road and the East Greenwich spot if you're in the area.
5. Start St. Patrick's Day off right this year at SK's Senior Center located at 25 Dominic Road in Wakefield. A morning of traditional Irish choir songs complete with a performance by local Irish step dancers will get you in the mood for a corned beef and cabbage lunch at noon. The event, which is sponsored by West Bay Community Action, costs just $3, with proceed going to the WBCA. Be sure to dress up in your lucky green!