St. Patrick’s Day has become a fun holiday around the globe in celebration of Irish culture. St. Patrick’s Day is a celebration of Ireland’s patron saint, Saint Patrick. He ministered Christianity during the fifth century, and in good Irish fashion, has become the cause of celebration on March 17th for all those of Irish descent. In honesty though I think everyone becomes an honorary Irishman on St. Paddy’s Day. Possibly to the chagrin of true Irishmen, but hey, we all want to have fun too.
Here in St. Louis area, where Better Office Furniture is located, we have an enormous population of Irish descent; which means lots of celebrations! Most of these seem to involve scores of green beer. But for those with kiddos who wish to join in celebrations without all the green beer, I’ve curated some events around the St. Louis area that are kid-friendly so that all can join in the fun and festivities. Some of the events aren’t necessarily St. Patrick’s Day inspired, but they are awesome family fun events, that take place on the weekend of St. Paddy’s Day!
St. Patrick’s Day Parade-St. Charles
When: Saturday, March 9th
If you’re on the St. Charles side of the river, you don’t have to wait until actual St. Paddy’s day to celebrate! Downtown St. Charles will be kicking off their parade at 2 pm at Main and 6th Street. You can go enjoy cheerful leprechauns, Celtic bagpipes,award-winning marching bands, and more.
St. Patrick’s Day Run
When: Saturday, March 16th
The race is held downtown on Broadway at Kiener Plaza, and begins at 9am. While the race is sponsored by Michelob the run is early, and with typically around 8,000 runners most are there for racing adventures. In addition, bag check and changing rooms are at the Ballpark Hilton at Broadway & Market from 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. For $5, you can check a bag before the run and then after you finish, change into fresh clothes to enjoy the rest of the day.
St. Patrick’s Day Parade
When: Saturday, March 16th
If you joined in the St. Patrick’s Day run, you will already be downtown to see the start of the 50th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The parade begins at 20th and Market, and ends at Broadway and Clark.
Did you know that St. Louis’ downtown parade is regularly noted as one of the best in country?! The parade usually has around 120 units to each it with 5,000+ marchers. It does draw a gigantic crowd though. There is typically over 250,000 event attendees. So be sure to arrive early.
This is a perfect opportunity for those cute little Irish eyes to don their smiles and maybe some green leprechaun attire.
Leprechaun Village
When: Saturday, March 16th
Leprechaun Village is an awesome area near the parade to bring your wee ones. It opens at 9am. The have food, bounce houses, balloons, Irish dance schools, and caricature artists. The schedule for Leprechaun Village that day is as follows:
-Balloon Inflation: 9:00 am to 11:30 am
-Bounce Houses: 10 am to 2 pm
-Irish Dance School Performances: 10 am to 11:40 am
-Two Caricature Artists Providing Free Portraits: 10 am to 2 pm
Magic House Family Fun Night
When: Friday, March 15th
This may not be specifically for St. Patrick’s Day, but if you’re looking for some free family fun that would normally cost money, Magic House Family Fun Night is a perfect fit!
This event takes place from 5:00 pm-8:00 pm and doesn’t cost anything, and no reservations are required. They due have a capacity limit though, so be sure to arrive early to get in for sure. Any given family can get two adults and up to four children into the Magic House at no cost.
Orchid Show-Missouri Botanical Garden
When: February 2nd-March 24th
Since everyone in St. Louis is pretty much over the cold, wintry weather, why not pretend to swept away to a tropical oasis and and indulge in the gorgeous site of the orchids?
The show is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm .
This is a once a year opportunity to view the expansive rotating collection of hundreds of orchids at the Missouri Botanical Garden.
Admission
$5.00 per person (ages 3 and up) in addition to regular Garden admission
($14 adults; $6 St. Louis City/County residents; free children ages 12 and under)
Free for Garden members and their children.
PJ Masks Live
When: March 17th
If your wee ones love PJ Masks get in on a live performance at Stifel Theatre! Watch Catboy, Owlette and Gekko along with their new friend PJ Robot, as they try to save the day from the sneaky villains – Romeo, Night Ninja and Luna Girl! Fluttering Feathers! Leaping Lizards! What a CAT-tastrophe!
We hope your whole family has a safe, lucky St. Patrick’s Day. Get out your green and have some family fun!
