Our favorite day of the year is almost here!
The annual Lawrence St. Patrick's Day Parade starts tomorrow (that's March 17, if you didn't know) at 1 p.m. The action begins at South Park and heads north through downtown Lawrence, over the bridge, and through the construction in North Lawrence to end up at the Flamingo Club.
It's a long day for us. We get started early in the morning with last minute float preparations, dancing, and pizza for breakfast. By the time the parade's over, we're all worn out. Some of us go home, some party for awhile, and some of us keep going into the wee hours of the night. A few unfortunate folks- usually Dave- end up working behind the bar.
Here's a few parade and St. Patrick's Day related tips and ideas for you:
- Get downtown early. Don't drive downtown if you don't have to. Bike, walk, or scooter if you can. The area is packed with people and cars.
- If you're on Twitter, be sure to use the #lawstpats hashtag when you're tweeting about the parade. We're giving away some t-shirts, and the Bull 92.9 radio station is giving away some stuff too, including a $25 gift certification to Salty Iguana. Prizes awarded to random tweeters who use the hashtag.
- If you're drinking, get a sober driver. Lawrence police are conducting a saturation patrol Wednesday night. (Actually, get a sober driver anytime you're drinking, not just because there's a saturation patrol.) Sandbar staff is happy to call a cab, call a friend, or as a last resort someone would probably even drive you home- it's been done before.
- Looking for St. Patrick's Day themed drinks? Check these out from Fine Living Food & Drink. We don't have the ingredients to make most of them, but you can make them at home. Although, the Frozen Irish Banana sounds a little like the Dirty Banana…
- Try cooking with Guinness. Our IT professional, Frank, will appreciate these recipes, courtesy of the Beeriety blog. If you like Guinness, you'll probably enjoy adding it to your food.
- Use Smartphone apps to enhance your drinking experience. If you're using Android, Blackberry, Palm, or iPhone, there's an app for you courtesy of PC World. You can find a pub, play beer pong, or cure a hangover.
Our favorite friendly float rivals, the gang from Kennedy Glass, invited our crew over tonight for burgers, beers, and float viewings. After that, we've got some details to finish up. We'll see you tomorrow in downtown Lawrence!