So what exactly do us Texans do to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Where do we go? If you’re a party animal and looking for an all-night celebration then I would suggest Dallas or Austin as my second and third picks. It would take me days to list all of the activities these two fine cities offer but I’ll offer you a small sampling. My top pick? Read on . . .

For Austin, think all day street festivals and hang at places such as the Fado Irish Pub on Fourth Street or B.D. Riley’s Irish Pub on 6^th Street. If Dallas is more your speed then plan on partying at Trinity Hall Irish Pub on Mockingbird Lane or the Greenville Avenue Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade and after-party which drew more than 75,000 people last year.

But my top pick for the best St. Patrick’s Day fun would have to be the Panhandle town of Shamrock, Texas. I mean honestly, the name alone should tell you how much fun this is going to be! This year will the 62^nd Annual St. Patrick’s Day Celebration and will boast everything from parades to a motorcycle rally to lawnmower races to a Donegal Beard Contest . . . need I go on? You won’t find a better place in Texas to “celebrate the green”!

What are your plans for St. Patrick’s Day? It’s fast approaching . . .

Until next time . . .

Paige aka PJsTravelinTexas
For some other great thoughts on celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Texas see these blogs:

1. Top 10 St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations Across the Lone Star State by Danno Wise
2. St. Patrick’s Day Planner by the CitySearch Staff in Austin
3. Houston St. Patrick’s Day Guide from the Houston Press

St. Patrick’s Day is an Irish religious holiday. But if you happen to be in New York on March 17, 2008, you can be forgiven for thinking it is an all-american festival. On St. Paddy’s day, New York will be a green city – and that has nothing to do with the environment.The city gets a green makeover. The people, their clothes, hats, flowers, water fountains and buildings such as the Empire State Building will go green. People from all over the nation and the world come to NYC for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and festivities, even the Irish.

Here are the list of festivities and places I recommend to join the celebration.

Start the day with the mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. No better way to start a day than a one-on-one chat with God and a cardinal who is an archbishop. Edward Michael Cardinal Egan is the Archbishop of New York and St. Patrick’s Cathedral is his HQ. It’s one of the most beautiful Gothic style catholic churches in the world, where the exquisite stained glass windows compete with the altar’s spirituality, and the marble sculptures vie for attention with the uplifting music emanating from the 150-rank Kilgen organ.

The cathedral is one of the prime tourist attractions in New York, with over 5½ million visitors each year. It is especially busy on St. Patrick’s Day. The two blocks around the church are packed with people waiting to get inside. To get a seat, get there well ahead of time, leave your car at your hotel and take the subway or walk.

Next up, is the main event of the day, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The parade starts at 11.00 a.m., at 44th St. and Fifth Ave. The parade is a tradition not just for the Irish here, but the whole of NYC.

Everyone wears green, shops are decked with green, green beer flows in the Irish pubs and entire families turn out to line the streets on Fifth Avenue, from 44th to the 86th streets, to enjoy the bands, the colorful costumes and the carnival atmosphere. The best viewing spot for the parade is at the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The parade ends around 3 p.m., which is a cue for a break and well deserved lunch. A suitable choice for lunch is an Irish pub in the vicinity, with thick, juicy steaks, shepherd’s pie and Irish beer. If you follow the parade to its end at 86th Street, one of the most well known pubs in the area is the Parlour, located at 250 West 86th St. (212) 580-8923, which serves fresh Irish salmon steak seared with mustard sauce and a leek confit. It is also known for its shepherd’s pie, a foodaholic’s dream – tasty, filling and reasonably priced. Wash it all down with one or three of a range of Irish beers.

St. Patrick’s Day is a part of the culture and history of the city – an essential part of the New York city experience. So tell me, how do you spend St. Patrick’s Day in your city? And is there a special festival or day in your city or town which makes it something worth visiting?

From guest blogger Marsha Takeda-Morrison of Sweatpantsmom

I have to admit St. Patrick’s Day is not a big holiday around our house. Although it should be, seeing as my husband is something like one-eighth Irish, along with some Scottish, English, Polish, and a certain allegiance to Australia since most of his relatives are there. Add to that my Japanese ancestry, and you can see how celebrating all of our cultures would be a little daunting. I think the most Irish thing my husband has ever done is hang an air freshener in his car that was shaped like a four-leaf clover.

But this year we plan to celebrate that one-eighth, by downing an Irish beer (or five). St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Monday, so the festivities will be in full swing the weekend before. We’ll start off by heading straight to our favorite, Tom Bergin’s, a classic Irish pub that bills itself as the oldest Irish establishment in Los Angeles. It’s housed in a quaint cottage in the classic Fairfax District, close to the L.A. County Museum of Art. Along with the beer, I’m determined to order corned beef and cabbage. Believe it or not I grew up eating this traditional Irish dish – my Japanese mom used to make it regularly, although I remember it always being served with a side of rice. Hear that? It’s the sound of a thousand leprechauns groaning.

From there we’ll head down the street to Molly Malone’s, which is unique because it also has live music almost every night of the week, everything from acoustic to rock to reggae as well as traditional Irish music. Some popular bands have gotten their start on this stage: Weezer, 5 For Fighting, Train, Tears For Fears and occasionally musicians will show up and play with bands they know – Lenny Kravitz was there recently. I wish I had caught that – listening to Lenny Kravitz play while sipping an Irish whiskey? Awesome, whether you’re Irish or not.

Monday, March 17 happens to be the first day of Spring Break, so with the kids off of school and my husband and I taking the week off, we’ll be able to head downtown to L.A.’s ninth annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. It starts close to one of our favorite locations, Olvera Street, so maybe we’ll start off with a Mexican breakfast. Which is such an L.A. experience – huevos rancheros to begin our Irish day. Come to think of it, the parade also puts us close to Little Tokyo, so maybe the day will end with dinner at one of our favorite sushi bars, Sushi Gen. Our two daughters should be completely confused about their heritage by the end of the day.

Close by, the hip local joint Bar 107 is hosting an all-day party; doors open at 6am. And it’s a wildly popular event – last year there was a line of people waiting to get in even at that early hour, ready to down their $2 Guinness. Somehow drinking at that early hour seems crazy to me, though – I’m sure the Irish experience would end with that most American of pastimes – getting over a massive beer hangover.

How do you plan on celebrating St. Patrick’s Day? Will you wear green, or are you hoping to get pinched?