A Centretown St. Patrick’s Day
By Matthew Curtis
St. Patrick’s Day is around the corner and Centretown has already started going green. A mayoral proclamation, the parade, and (of course) the expected parties and pubs are in the works for the celebrations, which started with Mayor Jim Watson announcing the ten-day-long Ottawa Irish Festival on March 8 at city hall.
“One of the great things about the timing of these events is that St. Patrick’s Day happening mid-March really shows off that Ottawa is a four-season destination” said Julia Thomson, project coordinator for communications at Ottawa Tourism. “It’s great for visitors to know when it’s not necessarily peak tourism season there’s still lots going on.”
Major attractions this year included the St. Patrick’s Day parade organized by the Irish Society of the National Capital Region, and Beau’s St. Patrick’s Party – “a kind of Mecca for St. Patrick’s Day” – which both took place on March 10.
The 36th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade was hosted by the Irish Society this past Saturday, a week before St. Patrick’s Day.
“March 17th moves around on different days of the week and logistically it would be difficult to manage” Bryan Daly, president of the Irish Society, said in an email. “Many entertainers make serious money on the 17th and the Irish Society wants to free them up for these opportunities.”
Daly hoped the festivities honoured Ottawa’s Irish community and its contributions to the National Capital Region with the parade as “they say roughly 28 per cent of the National Capital Region has Irish origins.” He said the community’s most significant contribution was the work of labourers in building the Rideau Canal from 1826-1832.
The Irish Society partnered with Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company for its third annual Beau’s St. Patrick’s Party at Aberdeen Pavilion.
The party brings out the best in attendees, said Beau’s CEO and co-founder Steve Beauchesne.
“I think the sense of community that you get really is overwhelming. Whether you’re Irish or not -I think the Ottawa spirit really comes to life in our St. Patrick’s Party.”
Partnering with the Irish Society makes it an authentic celebration of Irish culture, Beauchesne said, “not a bunch of people wearing green hats and having a beer.”
The event featured traditional Irish music and cuisine, a Beau’s beer aged in Jameson Irish Whiskey casks, an Irish dance-off, a collection of bands with headliners The Real McKenzies, and around 2,000 guests.
“The core of the party is one that we’re really happy with,” Beauchesne said. “We’re not messing around too much because it seems people have really come to enjoy it the way it is.”
A live Celtic music performance and pancake breakfast took place St. Brigid’s Centre for the Arts on March 11. The Canadian Tire Centre will host an Irish Night on March 16 during the Ottawa Senators game, where the team will face the Dallas Stars.
The traditional St. Patrick’s Day mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. at St. Patrick’s Basilica on March 17, and at Blessed Sacrament Church in the Glebe a chef-prepared dinner and expert-instructed Irish dance lessons will run from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Finally, (and unsurprisingly) almost every single bar and pub in Ottawa will be offering the opportunity to imbibe Irish-themed everything in and around the holiday.
Celebrations, libations, and going green is about as traditional as St. Paddy’s gets. Exactly how green you should go, however, will be left up to your stomach.