St Patrick's Day in Los Gatos

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Most joyfully, the feast of St. Patrick falls on a Saturday this year.  That means that things will be hopping in dozens of pubs around the bay!  Are you ready to have a great time? There are tons of opportunities, including right here in Los Gatos!

But first, do you know who St. Patrick was?  And do you know why the date is celebrated? Briefly, St. Patrick was not Irish himself, but was a missionary (and a priest who'd become a bishop) in the land where he was once held a slave after being abducted by pirates.  St. Patrick died on March 17th, in possibly 461 or 493 - as with many saints, we're not entirely sure. (Catholics celebrate as a feast day not one's birthday, but one's death day - as it is considered birth into heaven.)  And yes, how typical for the Irish to celebrate a death with drinking!  I'm sure you've heard of Irish wakes. To "wake" the dead is really to lay the person out for a period of grieving (and remembering, and celebrating) before the funeral.  An added advantage is to allow enough time to see if he or she isn't simply comatose instead of dead. You wouldn't want to be buried alive!  Enough on drinking and dead people....

So where are the local parties?

Each year, the biggest blowout in Los Gatos for St. Paddy's Day happens at CB Hannigan's, located just off N. Santa Cruz Avenue (close to Highway 9) at 208 Bachman Avenue. It's an all-day Festival with live music and rowdy good times. Tel 395-1223 Hannigan's actually has events every single day this week leading up to Saturday's bash. St. Patrick's Day tickets are $50, must be bought in person at the bar.

Another spot that's bound to be filled on Saturday is #1 Broadway, located not on Broadway, but near it at 102 S. Santa Cruz Avenue.  The band Sage will be performing at 9:30pm - $10 cover charge. Tel 408.354.4303

There are many more pubs around Silicon Valley with St. Patrick's Day events too.

And apart from the pubs?

Wonderful performances are always found at nearby Montalvo! The Black Brothers (an Irish family) Concert is on St. Patrick's Day at 8pm and it sounds great.

And in Sunnyvale, The Golden Bough is being performed at the Sunnyvale Community Theater (550 E. Remington).

For more events in the greater San Jose area this Saturday, click here.

And something fun I stumbled onto is a site which is a bit about the Irish language, with brief audio clips of words & phrases in Irish. It is all on the All About Irish site.

So Happy St. Patrick's Day! Remember to wear your green!!

re: St Patrick's Day in Los Gatos

It is true that the Irish celebrate death with laughter ... and what a healthy way to deal with grief!

When I was in Ireland many years ago to spend a Christmas holiday with distant cousins, we spent two evenings making a round of Irish "wakes" ... it was a festive round of events, I must say .

I am 25% Irish and 75% Polish ... the festive air of Irish passing gave me an idea to preplan a Polish funeral polka Mass ... my family is not terribly supportive of this plan ... I will just have to get all the details down on paper ... and maybe have a rehearsal first!

Slainte, Mary!

re: St Patrick's Day in Los Gatos

re: St Patrick's Day in Los Gatos