Why You Always / Never Invite an Irish Girl to a Brewfest
St. Paddy’s Day, March 17, 2010 – Marin, California
Here’s the juice:
- • My name is Erin
- • I’m part Irish
- • I have red hair (at the moment anyway)
Consequently, St. Patrick’s Day is more or less a national holiday for me. Actually, for all of us Irish. Saint Patrick’s Day (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig) is named after Saint Patrick (AD 387–461), one of the patron saints of Ireland. What once was a purely Catholic holiday, has now become a more secular celebration of all things Irish. Learn more about St. Patrick.
Oddly, the color most associated with St. Patrick’s Day used to be blue. The switch to green came during an 18th century political rebellion when soldiers wore all green to make a spectacle of themselves.
The phrase “the wearing of the green,” generally means wearing a shamrock on your clothing and comes from a popular song.
This year, I started celebrating early by attending the Annual Fairfax Brewfest. For a steep $25, you got all the beer you could drink. That is, until they started running out…What? 16 breweries represented and the well runs dry? St. Pat would not be pleased….
The Brewfest featured a fairly rockin’ bluegrass / country band (I couldn’t quite figure it out). My friend Lizzie and I made a bunch of new friends. Like these blokes who lived with their parents and worked at the local sex shop. Quality folk. The best part was that the festivities were held in an old barn that looked like a gymnasium inside, complete with baseball court markings. Ahhhh, drinking behind the bleachers in the gym — good junior high school memories.
Note: I went to a Catholic Jr. High, which might explain a lot.
Other fond St. Paddy’s day memories include the 11:00 am work release in NYC to attend the parade with my good friend Suzie-Q Nolan (quintessential Boston Irish, she is). And of course the dyeing of the Chicago River green each year.
The day is just getting started and the night is young. Let the real St. Paddy’s Day party begin! The Luck of the Irish be with you!
This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 and is filed under Erin Now, North America.