St. Patrick’s Day revelers have many options

In season, you can find a fair, festival or celebration in every corner of the Bradenton area.

Face it, we like to party, and there’s no better reason to party than St. Patrick’s Day, when we all celebrate the patron saint of Ireland and Irish culture.

Clancy’s Irish Sports Pub

The biggest Irish-themed celebration of the day, this year and every year, is at Clancy’s Irish Sports Pub. If you can leave the kids at home on Saturday, you might want to spend the day there. Clancy’s celebrates Irishness all year long, but it hypes up the Irish for St. Patrick’s Day. Clancy’s St. Patrick’s Day Bash gets going at noon Saturday and keeps going into the wee hours, with live entertainment from start to finish. The lineup includes The Eric Von Band (noon), O’Reilly’s Irish Dancers (3-3:30 p.m.), authentic Irish music by Paul & Jerry (3:30-6:30 p.m.), bag pipers (5 p.m.), the Billy Rice Band (7-10 p.m.) and Concrete Airplane Band (10 p.m.-1 a.m.). If you are a fan of parade beads, the DeSoto Crewe capture is at 3 p.m.

There is a $50 prize for best Irish costume.

Clancy’s is at 6218 Cortez Road W., Bradenton. Call 941-794-2489 or go to clancysirishsportspub.com.

This is the second year Ace’s Live Music is hosting a St. Patrick’s Day Celebration benefiting Manatee PAL. The fundraiser is 1-10 p.m. Saturday and features traditional food specials and live music by Terry Helm, Trilogy +, Memphis Rub, Gumbo Boogie and Concrete Edgar, a Southern rock tribute band. There is no cover charge. Prize drawings, auctions, 50/50, drink specials and more. Ace’s is at 4343 Palma Sola Blvd., Bradenton, 941-795-3886 or aceslivemusic.com.

For a more-sedate Irish pub experience, you can check out O’Bricks Irish Pub in downtown Bradenton. The restaurant will offer some Irish food and beverage specials, including hot corned beef sandwiches, corned beef and potatoes, and green beer, while it lasts. Bagpipers will play outside the restaurant from noon to 1 p.m.

Outside O’Bricks, an Old Main Street, the St. Patrick’s Day edition of Main Street live is set for 6-10 p.m., with live music and vendors. It’s free as always. The Kim Betts & the Gamble Creek Band is the headliner — but it’s definitely not Irish.

Just down the street from O’Bricks, at 302 Old Main St., McCabe’s Irish Pub will open a couple of hours early, between 9:30 and 10 a.m. McCabe’s will have live music from an Irish band called Clover’s Revenge, noon-4 p.m., Irish dancing at 3:30 p.m., bagpipes and Irish beer. The pub is open until 2 a.m. and there’s no cover charge. The McCabe’s Irish Pub Facebook page has information.

Nearby, Pier 22, 1200 First Ave. W., Bradenton, also features specials on Irish food and libations — Guinness stout, Irish coffee and the like — all day long. Call 941-748-8087 or go to pier22dining.com.

The new and improved Freckled Fin Irish Pub in Holmes Beach is open just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. On Saturday, the pub opens at 10 a.m. and there’s a full day of music including Trevor and Kristie, Joshua Gilton and Babyl. The restaurant will have traditional Irish food and drink specials.

The Freckled Fin is at 5337 Gulf Drive N., Holmes Beach. Call 941-251-3930 or go to freckledfin.com.

The fun continues Sunday with the Beach Bistro’s 21st annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The parade is set for 4 p.m.

The family-friendly parade starts near the corner of Marina Drive and Gulf Drive and will continue north along Marina Drive and then Palm Drive and will wind up at 78th Street in Holmes Beach.

Among the parade’s highlights are high school bands, pipe bands, floats and camels.

You can find out more by calling the Beach Bistro at 941-778-6444.

Herald archive information was used in this story.

This story was originally published March 14, 2018 at 4:58 PM with the headline "St. Patrick’s Day revelers have many options."