St. Patrick’s Day may be on a weekday, but that’s no excuse to take it easy.
Instead, nearly everyone is moving the partying to this weekend. With Denver’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade coursing through LoDo on Saturday morning, downtown Denver is going to be soaked in green beer and filled with goofy smiles.
Navigating the sea of green could be rough: Some bars are charging covers — that means spending extra bucks to warm a bar stool. On the other hand, the cover-chargers often offer nice incentives, like live music and drink specials.
Whatever your St. Pat’s budget, there’s a party that will fit. It’s the day when everyone is Irish, right? Throw on some green, dot a few freckles if necessary and get out there.
Deep in the heart of the St. Patrick’s madness, Fado (1735 19th St.) will be the epicenter of Irish good cheer.
The pub declares “Session On” today for five days of St. Pat’s celebrating. Get warmed up for Saturday tonight — but not too warmed up — with live music from Seneca at 6 p.m. and That ’80s Band at 9 p.m.
Doors open early on Saturday. Really early: 7 a.m. At 11 a.m., the outdoor beer garden opens. Kids are welcome during the day, with face painting and a bounce castle available from noon to 4 p.m. (The under-21 crowd has to leave at 4 p.m., however.)
Live music starts at noon and goes all day, featuring the Michael Collins Pipe Band, the Indulgers, step dancing from Celtic Steps, Brian and Brendan Clancy and another performance from Seneca.
The cover charge is $10 — get advance tickets at . Earlybirds who arrive before 10 a.m. can avoid the cover, and guests under age 21 get in for free.
Fado’s St. Pat’s party continues through Wednesday, the big day itself, when there’s another bash. (The cover Wednesday is $10, too.)
Other nearby pubs will be open early on Saturday, as well, including The Celtic Tavern (1801 Blake St.), Nallen’s Irish Pub (1429 Market St.) and Scruffy Murphy’s (2030 Larimer St.). Dig this: Scruffy Murphy’s will be serving free beer from 7 to 9 a.m. Saturday — it might be worth getting up early.
On the southeast side of downtown, just a MallRide away from the parade route, Katie Mullen’s is hosting its second annual Craic- fest, starting today.
Music will be pouring out of the pub nearly every day until Wednesday. The pub flew in Pinch of Snuff from Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim, to be the house band for the duration. They’re the house band at Mullen’s sister pub, The Swan, in Carrick-on-Shannon.
Pinch of Snuff will provide traditional Irish tunes throughout the Craicfest, with assistance from U2 cover band Under a Blood Red Sky, local Celtic rockers Potcheen and more. See the full schedule at .
On Wednesday, the Lotus Clubs crew gets in on the action with a party at Oak Tavern (1416 Market St.), albeit with a more loungey vibe.
The “Irish in America” bash features music from Vail hip-hop/rock group The MTHDS, with $4 Guinness and Killian’s Irish Red specials as enhancements.
Oak Tavern is always proud of its array of baked potatoes, but Wednesday is the perfect time to show them off: Their meal-sized potatoes will be on special. Show up early to get a seat.
And this is just the tip of the shamrock. There are events all over the Front Range.
After seeing green for nearly a week, it’ll be time to take a break. Maybe a margarita would be nice.
Miami prequel.
The Winter Music Conference is coming soon — very soon. The annual festival for electronic-music industry types and serious beatfreaks starts March 23 in Miami.
You don’t have to tell that to Robbie Rivera. The house DJ and producer throws his huge “Juicy Beach” parties at the WMC every year. This year, he’s making a stop in Denver before the WMC, spinning at Beta (1909 Blake St.) Saturday. Advance tickets are $10 at .
