St Patricks Day-- St. Louis Style

photo taken at the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque last fall.

St. Louis is a great place to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. We've got two parades, plus plenty of Irish pubs and restaurants offering live music, Irish food and more. But, in my opinion, there is no better place than the St. Louis neighborhood known as Dogtown. This area has been a predominantly Irish community since the late eighteen hundreds when miners immigrating from Ireland and Wales began settling in the area. It's no surprise St. Patrick's Day is the most popular day of the year in Dogtown.

Every year on March 17, crowds gather along Tamm Avenue for the Ancient Order of Hibernians' parade. St. Louis actually has two St. Patrick's Day parades, but many consider the Dogtown parade to be the real Irish celebration. If it is a Macy's thanksgiving day type parade you're after then head downtown, but if it is a neighborhood celebration with a feel similar to those held in Ireland, that means no giant floats or Scooby Doo balloons, then Dogtown is the place to go. There are plenty of Irish dancers and bands, but most of the parade is filled with members of the St. Louis Irish-American community marching as clans under their family crests.

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There's plenty to do in Dogtown any day of the year but on St. Patrick's Day after the parade the street is full of vendors and the churches are serving up traditional Irish meals. You'll need the "luck of the Irish" though to get into restaurants like Seamus McDaniels or Pat's Bar & Grill. There are also Irish dancers, music and other entertainment all day at the area churches.

As a side note, if you make it into Pats Bar and Grill you will find a photo of Pat over the bar. The first time I took the Old Salt there with some relatives from out of town, they all had to do a double take, because Pat is the spitting image of the Old Salt. Perhaps, somewhere in their family trees we would find that they have common ancestors.