2023 St. Patrick’s events on tap in Eastern Iowa

The Cedar Rapids St. Patrick’s Day Parade Society — SaPaDaPaSo — is getting a jump on the holiday, staging the 48th parade on Saturday, March 11, rather than on March 17, a new Saturday-before-St. Patrick’s Day tradition that began in 2021.

Dubbed “The Shenanigans continue,” Saturday’s parade will snake around downtown from 1 to 2 p.m., beginning on Sixth Street, turning down Second Avenue to First Street, then back up Third Avenue and ending on Fifth Street behind the Cedar Rapids Public Library. So far, the parade has more than 60 entries.

The Saturday move came when the local parade society held a drive-by event at Hawkeye Downs in 2021, and when the parade returned to it usual downtown route in 2022, the organizers kept it on a Saturday afternoon.

Moving the parade to the weekend solves several problems, Tammy Maneely, last year’s SaPaDaPaSo president, noted in 2022.

“If you were to sum it up, it really comes down to sustainability and supportability,” she said. ”We need to make it easy to join the parade, participate in the parade, and we have to make it easy to get volunteers to help support the event.”

The weather forecast calls for a chilly but sunny 36 degrees, so bundle up.

Judging results will be announced around 4:30 p.m. via Facebook Live from Whiskey Jo’s Pub & Grub, 4617 J St. SW, Cedar Rapids.

Here are just some of the events happening around the Corridor this weekend to next, and of course, the green beer will be flowing throughout your favorite pubs, with music to get your feet moving to a wee fleet beat.

March 10

NiBeSaPaDaPaSo: 7:30 p.m., Mirrorbox Theatre, 1200 Ellis Blvd. NW, Cedar Rapids; $20 at mirrorboxtheatre.com/nibe/

The SaPaDaPaSo parade is a beloved Cedar Rapids tradition — but what about the Night Before? What about NiBeSaPaDaPaSo? Mirrorbox Theatre actors will be reading monologues from “Echoes of Ireland,” interspersed with live fiddle tunes performed by Marita May O'Connell.

“Echoes of Ireland” follows the saga of an Irish family from County Cork in 1860 to present day New York City. Beginning five years after the end of the potato famine, “Echoes” sees the Cunygham clan on their journey across the ocean to the ports of Manhattan to the assimilation and rebirth of their family as American citizens who never forget from whence they came. The journey is part tragedy, part comedy, part history lesson and all undeniably human.

O'Connell has been the lead fiddler in Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s show “Celtic Fyre,” played fiddle in the first U.S. tour of “Rockin’ Road to Dublin,” and locally has played violin alongside 2 Cellos, Foreigner and Disturbed.

March 11

SaPaDaPaSo Parade: 1 to 2 p.m., downtown Cedar Rapids parade route.

Wee Parade: 1:30 to 3 p.m., parade starts at 2 p.m., Uptown Artway, Marion. The shortest parade you ever did see, but there will be candy, goats, floats and a tiny green car; facebook.com/Uptownsnug

Blame Not the Bard: 7 p.m., Coggon Opera House, 209 E. Main St., Coggon; $20 at the door or reserve tickets at (319) 435-2071. This “Iowa Raised, Ireland Rooted” band plays a high-energy show with Irish song, stories and fiddling.

March 17

St. Patrick’s Day Bash: The Olympic South Side Theater, 1202 Third St. SE, Cedar Rapids; $12 cover charge; raffles, prizes, games, photo booth, wear green and get $1 off all drinks. Bands: Wylde Nept, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., Craig Erickson, 4 to 6 p.m., Evan Stock, 6 to 9 p.m.; theolympiccr.com/

Wylde Nept: 7 to 9 p.m., La Wine Bar & Restaurant, 180 E. Burlington St., Iowa City; $12, lawinebar.ticketleap.com/live-music-wylde-nept/

St. Patrick’s Day Brewery Bash: 4 to 10 p.m., Millstream Brewing Co., 835 48th Ave., Amana. With two bands, .5K Pretzel Run, Millstream Brau Haus food, cold beer; millstreambrewing.com/ and facebook.com/millstreambrewing

Beer & Pretzel .5K: 7 p.m., Millstream Brewing Co., ; $40 registration at bit.ly/Point5K

O’Zachary’s St. Patrick’s Day Show: 7 to 9 p.m., The Lucky Cat Comedy & Events, 301 Second Ave. SW, Cedar Rapids. Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a bunch of comics named Zach. Tickets: ages 21 and over; $15 advance, $20 door, theluckycatcr.com/

March 18

Des Moines St. Paddy’s races: 7:15 a.m., marathon, half marathon and 5K, Iowa State Capitol, East Locust Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, Des Moines; various registration fees; iowaruns.com/desmoinesstpaddys5k

Wylde Nept: 8 to 11 p.m., Jameson’s Public House, 310 E. Fourth St., Waterloo; jamesonspublichouse.com/music-events

March 19

Bob Black & Banjoy: 2 to 4:30 p.m., Farmers Mercantile Hall, 100 W. Main St., Garrison; $12, kids free. Bob Black & Banjoy return to Garrison with fiddler Joy Ward, for a Sunday afternoon of Irish, bluegrass and Midwestern roots music in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. Refreshments by the Garrison Library.

Comments: (319) 368-8508; diana.nollen@thegazette.com