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Toasting St. Pat

For a day, everyone gets to be Irish.

Why do we love St. Patrick? Because when the landscape still is icy and white, he makes everything else turn green — clothes, beer, even rivers.

For that, the Irish priest deserves sainthood. Here are some good ways to celebrate his day. And if you miss the parties, four Irish inns are green year-round.

In 2012, St. Patrick's Day falls on a Saturday, so expect festivities to be particularly exuberant.

Great parades

In traditionally Irish St. Paul, the annual noon parade runs along Fourth Street to Rice Park on March 17. The Landmark Center on Rice Park is holding an Irish Day of Dance March 11 and a St. Patrick's Day Celebration March 15.

The city's early power brokers were Irish. Up on the hill, tour the magnificent Cathedral of Saint Paul, commissioned by Archbishop John Ireland.

In Minneapolis, the parade starts at 6:30 p.m. March 17 on Nicollet Mall, near Orchestra Hall.

In Madison, the parade is at 1:30 p.m. March 17 and runs from Capitol Square. In the morning, there's a Shamrock Shuffle run from State Street.

In Chicago, they really do dye the river green. Watch the dye job at 10:45 p.m. March 17 from Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive, then watch the noon St. Pat's Day parade through Grant Park.

The Irish American Heritage Center holds a festival after the parade. Navy Pier will set off fireworks at 7 p.m. with a Celtic/Irish soundtrack.

In Milwaukee, the big St. Pat's parade starts at noon March 17, starting at Third and Wisconsin downtown and followed by music, dancing and pipes and drums at the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center.

In northwest Iowa, Emmetsburg is the state Irish capital, and it celebrates with a long weekend of festivities, including a parade at 1:30 p.m. March 17. In eastern Iowa, there are parades in Davenport and Cedar Rapids.

In the Brainerd area of Minnesota, Crosslake holds a parade at 2 p.m. March 17, with hot-air balloon rides, a Plunge for the Puck and a Pot of Gold treasure Hunt. In the Minnesota River Valley, there's a parade at 5:30 p.m. March 17 in St. Peter.

In Wisconsin, there are parades in Prairie du Chien, Racine, Sturgeon Bay, Shawano, Siren, Plymouth, the usually Swiss capital of Monroe and in New London — that is, "New Dublin'' — on March 17.

Music, beer and a bed

If you really like beer, you may want to stay put on the big day. Each of the Irish inns below has handsome rooms and a pub that serves up Irish specialties and live music. Check for on-line specials.

In the eastern Wisconsin town of Plymouth, the Irishman's Walk parade on March 17 begins at 11 a.m. and ends at 52 Stafford, an 1892 hotel renovated into a Irish inn with a beautiful restaurant and pub that features cherry millwork and Celtic-themed stained and etched glass.

The Stafford has two sister inns, St. Brendan’s in Green Bay and County Clare in Milwaukee. The newly built St. Brendan’s Inn is on the Fox River in downtown Green Bay. 

On the edge of downtown Milwaukee, which has one of the region's biggest parades, the County Clare has comfortable rooms above the pub. 

In Galena, the Irish Cottage Boutique Hotel includes Frank O'Dowd's Irish Pub & Grill. It celebrates St. Pat's Day March 17, with Irish dancers, music, contests and prizes.

In Finn country, two saints

The northern Minnesota town of Menahga, home of a fiberglass St. Urho, celebrates St. Urho Days with a parade, followed by bar-stool races at Spirit Lake Beach.

 A pitchfork-wielding St. Urho is said to have banished the grasshoppers from Finland, thereby saving the grape harvest in the vineyards.

Just off Minnesota's North Shore, the village of Finland celebrates St. Urho's Day March 17 with a parade, beauty pageant, face-painting, music and snow sculptures.

In the northern Wisconsin town of Brantwood, St. Urho shares the bill with St. Patrick, holding a corned beef-and-cabbage dinner and program at the community center.

Last updated on January 11, 2012