Beyond the beer crawl…
It is possible to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day in the East Bay, get a taste of Irish Culture, and skip the green beer. Here are our favorite recommendations.

The Starry Plough

Spend Saint Patrick’s Day afternoon and/or evening in down-home Irish pub with some of the best of Berkeley’s Irish population. And, they are serving a dinner of corned beef and cabbage with Irish soda bread. Enjoy great beer on tap, plenty of Irish music, and a friendly atmosphere.

3101 Shattuck Avenue (at Prince Street)
Friday, March 17, 2017
11 AM to 11:55 PM
$12-15 sliding scale

6 PM The McBride Irish Dancers
7 PM Driving with Fergus
Driving With Fergus is a Bay Area group of multi-instrumentalist musicians who play the traditional dance music and songs of Ireland with power, grace, and passion.

Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse
The Black Brothers Band—Dublin’s brothers of song
Brothers Michael and Shay Black play an exciting mix of Dublin street songs, music hall songs, and historical ballads, as well as songs from the Irish, English, and Scottish traditions and the occasional contemporary number.

Friday, March 17, 2017, 8 PM
2020 Addison Street / Berkeley, CA 94704

Dublin St. Patrick’s Day Celebration
Every Saint Patrick’s Day the city of Dublin takes the Irishness of its name full-on with a weekend festival. It includes entertainment (everything from Celtic rock to bagpipes, to dancing), carnival rides, Irish food and drink, and an Irish Tea Cottage. There is also a parade, a Shamrock 5K run/walk, and the firefighters put on a pancake breakfast.

Saturday and Sunday, March 18 and 19
7 AM to 6 PM