Silver Clovers Among the Green: St. Patrick’s Day Faire’s Twenty-Fifth Anniversary
By Kevin Downey
There’s one day each year when just about everyone feels a bit Irish, no matter how distant their ancestry. Of course, that’s St. Patrick’s Day, and this year it’s going to be a bigger deal than usual in the Valley.
The St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Faire is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary on Saturday, March 15. The parade begins at 10 a.m. at 3rd Street (between Virginia and Moreland) and goes to Margaret T. Hance Deck Park. The Faire begins immediately afterward (until 5 p.m.) inside the park at the corner of Central Avenue and Culver Street.
More than 20,000 people show up each year for the parade, and about 5,000 people attend the family-friendly Faire.
This year’s theme, in honor of the anniversary, is “Silver on the Green,” and music’s going to play a big part in the celebration, as it always has in Irish culture since Paddy O’Donnell first picked up a beer and discovered a fiddle (bunch of blarney, but you get the idea). There will be plenty of Irish step dancing and music to liven up the mood, from straightforward Irish folk tunes to Irish rock bands. Performances will take place throughout the day on two stages.
Among this year’s performers are Flagstaff-based Irish folk band The Knockabouts and Irish rock group The Brazen Heads. Students from the Irish Cultural Center’s Academy of Irish and Celtic Studies will also perform.
The parade is free. Tickets for the Faire are free for kids under 6, $1 for kids 6–12, and $10 for adults. Free parking is available in decks on the 2600, 2700, and 2800 blocks along Central Avenue. A free shuttle will pick up Fairegoers in front of 2600 Central Ave. Want to go Gaelic? Find out more about the St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Faire at phxirish.org