It’s that time of year again when the world goes green — for St. Patrick’s Day.
Here are four special events celebrating the Irish holiday this weekend:
- The Muses Present: Celtic Spring Concert at Second Baptist Church, 222 E. 8th St., Little Rock: Get in the St. Patrick’s Day spirit as the Muses Creative Artistry Project celebrates the holiday with two spectacular performances of its concert entitled, “Celtic Spring” from 7:30-9 p.m. Friday (March 14). The concert showcases Irish and English ballads, along with musical and poetic surprises, including settings of poetry by Robert Burns and an original dance number set to music inspired by William Shakespeare’s “Mid-Summer Night’s Dream.” Tickets are $10. Get more information here.
- 3rd Street Merchants St. Patrick’s Day Block Party at Dugan’s Pub, 401 E. 3rd St., Little Rock: On Saturday (March 15), hit 3rd Street in downtown Little Rock for its annual St. Patty’s block party that will feature entertainment from the Step Dancers from the McCafferty School of Irish Dance & the O’Donnovan School of Irish Dance, The Little Rock Pipe and Drum Corp, The Carnie Barkers and Barrett Baber, Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism’s “Song of Arkansas” winner. Also check out all of the vendors that will be lined up outside and enjoy fabulous drink specials. The street will be blocked off between Rock Street and River Market Avenue. Hours are 12-10 p.m. Saturday.
- 15th Annual Rock to North Little Rock St. Patrick’s Day Parade: The big parade– put on by the Irish Cultural Society of Arkansas (ICSA)– beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday (March 15) will start at 4th and Rock Street in downtown Little Rock passing Dugan’s Irish Pub and crossing the Arkansas River via the Main Street Bridge, passing Cregeen’s Irish Pub, and traveling through the Argenta Arts District. It will feature clowns, Irish Wolfhounds, antique cars, decorative floats and more, plus tons of entertainment following the parade, including “Dancing at the Crossroads” from approximately 2-4 p.m. This event will feature musical performances from two marching bagpipe bands and traditional Irish dance performances by the McCafferty and O’Donovan Schools of Irish Dance. For more information about the parade, click here.
- 11th Annual World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Hot Springs: In what has become one of the most popular St. Patrick’s celebrations in America, the first ever 11th Annual World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Monday (March 17) on Bridge Street in the Spa City, will have a slew of fun events again this year. Starting at 4:30 p.m., there will be a blarney stone kissing contest, followed with a measuring of the parade route and then the main event at 6:30 p.m.– a parade filled leprechauns, quirky floats, marching bands, Irish Elvis impersonators and Grand Marshal TV and movie star Jim Belushi. To kick things off will be Mountain Man from the “Duck Dynasty” show as the official parade starter. There will also be vendors outside selling food and beverages, with some selling green beer, of course. For more information, call the Hot Springs Convention and Visitor’s Bureau at (800) SPA-CITY.
- Jameson Pub Crawl in Argenta: North Little Rock’s Argenta Arts District will be hosting a St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl sponsored by Jameson Irish Whiskey on St. Patty’s Day Monday (March 17). Tasting begins at 6 p.m. at The Joint and is followed Reno’s Argenta Cafe around 7 p.m., with a final crawl into Cregeen’s Irish Pub at 8 p.m. for the finale. Shirts, hats, beads and more will be available until the swag is all gone. Get more information here.
For more St. Patty’s options, click here. Or, if you’re planning on staying low key this weekend but want to celebrate, check out our Taste of Tuesday feature that highlights five delicious recipes to eat and drink well!