Jacksonville
Culhane’s Irish Pub — owned by four genuinely Irish sisters — has two locations in the Jacksonville area, and they don’t hold back when it comes to St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. They’ll set up a tent outside both the Atlantic Beach and Southside pubs to handle all the folks lining up for corned beef & cabbage, Guiness Irish stew, Lucky Charm Jell-O shots, shepherd’s pie and bangers & mash. Pipe & drum groups, Irish dance troupes and Emerald Isle musicians provide music all day long, and the Southside location has Irish karaoke, drunken potato bowling, Bingo and Irish beer pong on the schedule. — Tom Szaroleta/The Florida Times-Union
St. Augustine
St. Patrick’s Day is big in St. Augustine, and the celebrations kick off downtown at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 12, with a parade. Expect excessive amounts of green clothing and accessories, men in kilts, big crowds and bagpipes.
Also starting Saturday morning, the St. Augustine Celtic Music and Heritage Festival will open its gates at Francis Field at 25 W. Castillo Drive. The event will feature major Celtic bands from the U.S. and beyond, Highland games, food, vendors workshops and more, according to the event website. The festival is 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. March 12 and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, March 13. General admission tickets are $15. Admission is free for children 12 and younger and for active duty and retired military.
Businesses downtown also will celebrate, including Ann O’Malley’s pub at 23 Orange Street and Meehan’s Irish Pub at 20 Avenida Menendez. For parade and festival information, go to celticstaugustine.com. — Sheldon Gardner, The St. Augustine Record.