Go Irish on the Island at St. Paddy’s Day Pub Crawl
It’s just a wee bit of leprechaun magic that courses through the veins of Island folks at the St. Paddy’s Day Pub Crawl, March 17. Dance a jig. Get a real Irish blessing. Kiss the Blarney Stone. See the green bikini contestants. Everyone’s invited to be part of the shenanigans during the daylong celebration presented by the Pensacola Beach Chamber of Commerce.
The St. Paddy’s Day Pub Crawl, which is Tuesday, March 17 offers the stout and strong 15 stops to visit. The Crawl is divided into The Wild Atlantic Way and Ring of Kerry routes with one start point – Crab’s at 9 a.m. presenting a deluxe Irish Breakfast for sale - and a grand finale at the Sandshaker at 6:15 p.m. where a fabulous prize will be awarded to one lucky crawler.
“New this year is the Lucky Lunch at The Landing at Red Fish Blue Fish,” said Beach Chamber CEO Jessica Simpson. “Keep your luck (and energy) going with the Lucky Lunch, then spend the afternoon hopping from stop to stop, collecting laughs, memories, and just the right amount of tomfoolery.”
The Lucky Lunch, $20, is served starting at 1:30 p.m. Advance lunch tickets are available online at pensacolabeachchamber.com/events/stpaddysdaypubcrawl.
There is no entry fee to participate in the St. Paddy’s Day Pub Crawl. Stop at one or all locations, there are very few rules. When it’s time to go to the next location, shake your shamrocks and head on, but it’s not mandatory.
The history of this event springs from an impromptu celebration in 1986 that involved one bottle of Irish whiskey, roller skates, a bicycle and four people, according to Sharon Annie Rooney Mattair. John Patrick “Paddy” Blake was the shenanigator and decided it should be an annual event. He founded the St. Paddy’s Day Pub Crawl and The Society of Leprechauns. Mattair served as the Queen of the Society of Leprechauns for ten years. Fine Beach Irishmen like Richard Dancer abandoned their usual work day drudgery to help Paddy Blake and the Leprechauns celebrate St. Paddy’s Day. They would start with Breakfast at Bobby D’s Beach Bar and proceed on a somewhat predetermined route. The Pub Crawl increased in popularity, and size. As it did, the generous group gathered plenty of donations for the Beach School and other charities.
Although Paddy Blake passed away in 2004, his legacy to have fun and help others through the Pub Crawl continues. The Chamber donates a portion of the proceeds from t-shirt sales to Covenant Care in Paddy Blake’s honor. The beach famous St. Paddy’s Day Pub Crawl shirts are a collector’s item that can be purchased at the Beach Visitors Center and each Crawl stop for $25.
“Hurry, they usually sell out,” added Simpson. “This year’s shirt is the best one yet.”
The participating Pub Crawl businesses will have special offers and events for Pub Crawlers. Here’s where the Pub Crawl shenanigans will happen: Crab’s, Casino Beach Bar, The Salty Rose, Shaggy’s, Bambo Willie’s, Senor Frog’s, Flounder’s, The Landing, Red Fish Blue Fish, Sneaky Tiki, the historic Islander Lounge, Paddy O’Leary’s, Fish Heads, Riptides Sports Grill , Sal de Mar and the iconic Sandshaker Lounge.
Beach restaurants will be open, some with distinctly Irish fare. For instance, Paradise Bar and Grill’s Renee Mack, who is famous for her New Orleans recipes, reminds us that her mother was a MacDonald, so she will have heaping plates of corned beef and cabbage for sale at mid-day.
Seamas Hunt, owner of Paddy O’Leary’s, hosts two shindigs. One of Saturday, March 15 and the big nonstop St. Patrick’s Day celebration, March 17, that begins with Bishop William Wack and Msgr. Luke Hunt praying the Mass at 9. After that, the party gets started with food, music and a $5 cover charge.
Irishman Chase Cole has the barkeeps at Flounder’s ready with special prices on Irish Wakes, and car bombs. No matter what the weather does, Robert Gleim heats up his two Pub Crawl stops at noon and 4 p.m. followed by the annual Green Bikini Contest at Bamboo Willie’s stage. With any luck, the contest will get started around 5 p.m.
What to wear? Wear your Pub Crawl shirt or incorporate it into your Irish costume. Wigs, kilts and wild green getups are the dress of the day. Expect to see all kinds Leprechauns, lads and lasses.
There’s lots of ways to keep up with routes. Sign up on the Pub Crawl Pensacola Beach app powered by Geo Whiz for updates and insider info, and get all the details at pensacolabeachchamber.com.
A friendly reminder: have a great time and a sober driver.