The city puts on the green for annual St. Pat’s celebration
Sure and begorrah, ’tis that time of year again. St. Patrick’s Day is upon us and, as usual, Dublin will be rolling out the green carpet for thousands of visitors from around the Bay Area and the Emerald Isles, too.Mostly sunny skies (at the time of this writing) are forecast for Saturday, which is great news for parade and festivalgoers who can start their day with a plate of green pancakes at the Fire Station 16 (7494 Donohue Drive) between 7 and 10 a.m.
The Lions’ Club St. Patrick’s Day Parade begins at 9:30 a.m., with the parade returning to its old route around Dublin Boulevard, Village Parkway and Amador Valley Boulevard. The city received lots of input from people who wanted to see the parade move back to its traditional route.
This year we have four visitors from Dublin’s sister city of Bray, Ireland. who will serve as the grand marshals of the parade. Eugene Finnegan is a member of the Bray Urban Council, who will be joined by his partner, Hope Toomy, and Bray City Engineer Sean O’Neill and his wife, Cecilia.
The festival remains outside the Civic Center, 100 Civic Plaza, where carnival rides, food and craft vendors and three stages of entertainment await. The main stage, food court stage and dance stage will be busy throughout the weekend (primarily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) with Irish music and dance.
All the festival information, including recommendations for parking, can be found at www.dublinstpats.com.
Written by Alan Elias, Columnist.
