Saint Patrick’s Day 2012 in the Inland Empire now online – click here!
Saint Patrick’s Day in the Inland Empire provides no shortage of reasons to pretend to celebrate Irish culture while providing a great excuse to drink green beer.
Killarney’s Saint Patrick’s Day Festival in Riverside and Temecula
Though Killarney’s Restaurant & Irish Pub in Riverside and Temecula is a year round Irish-themed hot spot, it serves as the unofficial center for all that is Saint Patrick’s Day. At the Riverside Plaza, the parking lot becomes a fenced-in playground for all that is quasi-Irish, including outdoor bars, a VIP area, Randal Gobs & Friends inside, California Celts outside, freebies, music and plenty of tasty (and sometimes pricey) traditional food. There was a $10 cover for this last year, so bring some cash. This event can be quite packed, perhaps beyond your preference, with not enough tables or space for some people’s taste. Killarney’s is located at 3639 Riverside Plaza Dr, Riverside, CA 92506-2718 and 32475 Temecula Pkwy # G101, Temecula, CA 92592-9669.
Downtown San Bernardino’s Free Saint Patrick’s Day Festival
If you want to avoid a cover and try something new, go to Downtown San Bernardino for the free outdoor Saint Patrick’s Day Festival (Facebook). The event will be outside the California Theatre on March 17 and 18th from 4-9PM. The festivities will include the Irish folk band Wake the Bard, corned beef and cabbage, green beer, Irish step dancers, bag pipes, $1,000 in contests that include cash prizes and a “Best Irish Spirit and Danny Boy Singing Contest.” In addition, Mindfox Productions will present Michael Londra – “Beyond Celtic” filmed live for PBS on March 18 at 8 p.m (this part is not free - tickets required). The free festival event will be Outside of the California Theatre, 562 West 4th Street, San Bernardino, CA.
Honorable Mention
The Salted Pig will also be serving corned beef and cabbage, Irish car bombs and green beer with bag pipes playing for 30 minutes a couple of times through out the day as well as some Flogging Molly punk rock, if you’re looking for a bar atmosphere in Riverside.
Hangar 24 Brewery will also be releasing a special green shirt and beer, though it is unclear if the beer will be green, though it will be tapped early in the day at 11 a.m.
[...] you enjoy beer at Killarney’s in Riverside/Temecula, The Salted Pig in Riverside, or Eureka! Burgers in Redlands/Claremont, then you would have loved [...]