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We’re about a week away from St. Patrick’s festivities and as we thought of all the places ways to highlight the parties and festivals of St. Patrick’s Day we considered only one to be ideal for this site. We considered highlighting Boston or Chicago, famous in the United States for their own ingrained flavor of Erin. We could have shared with you some insight on where the old world meets the new in Savannah, Georgia. When all was said and done, it was to Ireland that we knew we needed to go, as the land of cead mile failte, no host could be as warm or as appropriate for such a celebration than that than that of the Irish and no festival better shared than Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Day Festival.

March 12th really kick starts the Irish tourist season with an endless celebration brought about by street attractions, cultural events and performances.

The six-day Festival of performance, spectacle and participation is set to bring a formula for music and mirth to the streets and the Country as we celebrate our national holiday. Although times and purse strings are getting tighter no one knows how to have a great time for free better than the Irish and this year’s Festival programme promises to make FREE FUN the order of the day for the six-day Festival.

March 17, at noon, is a three kilometer parade, which has been known to attract 500 thousand spectators. Stake out a position on O’Connell Street on the north side or College Green outside Trinity on the south before 10 a.m. for a respectable view. Want something more comfortable? Grandstand seats available for €60. This year’s parade theme, ‘The Sky is the limit’, should serve to deliver the biggest and best yet. Irish street theatre companies, ceremonial groups and international marching bands will create a spectacular carnival atmosphere.

St. Patrick’s Festival 2009 marks the 14th following a request from the government in November 1995:

• Offer a national festival that ranks amongst all of the greatest celebration in the world
• Create energy and excitement throughout Ireland via innovation, creativity, grassroots involvement, and marketing the craic
• Provide the opportunity and motivation for people of Irish descent (and those who sometimes wish they were Irish) to attend and join in the imaginative and expressive celebrations
• Project, internationally, an accurate image of Ireland as a creative, professional and sophisticated country with wide appeal, as we approach the new Millennium.

The first St Patrick’s Day Festival was held on March 17th 1996 with only four months to prepare and barely a parade in place. The audience of the day drew an estimated 430,000. In 1997, they dropped “Day” to become “St. Patrick’s Festival”, a three day event entertaining over a million.

This year, the festival is broken up into categories helping attendees find the event that suits them best.

Families will find preceding the Parade on the 17th, The Spheres, a stunning performance by Australia based performing arts group <A HREF=”http://www.strangefruit.net.au/”Strange Fruit perched on giant, illuminated orbs at Docklands and the Funfair, a carnival featuring the 150-foot high Jubilee Wheel at Merrion Square.

The Best of the Fest, a comedy festival at Laughter Lounge runs Thursday the 12th through Saturday the 14th featuring the 5 greatest comedians working in Ireland today. Doors open at 7 with a free “Baby Guinness” until 7:30. Contact the box office 1800 COMEDY (266339) or from overseas +353 1 878 3003 or boxoffice@laughterlounge.com. The comedy festival culminates, in a way, on the night of the 14th, as one of the greatest fireworks displays will be unleashed over the River Suir to an amazing soundtrack from Mark McCabe.

St Patrick’s Festival’s Irish language celebration, Gaelspraoi, supported by Foras na Gaeilge, the body responsible for promoting the Irish language throughout Ireland, offers the greatest number of events, throughout the fest, for all age groups. Here’s a rare opportunity to experience Dublin in Irish (Gaelic) through cabarets and céilís, tours, workshops and much more. The calendar is in Irish so, unfortunately, I’m hard pressed to give you a run down; here’s the calendar to review the upcoming culture and craic.

That hardly covers the festivities with an official walk through Dublin, a race, endless concerts and live music, and even literary performances featuring one of Ireland’s great authors and a presentation of Darby O’Gill and the Little People.

For more, visit stpatricksfestival.ie

Hotel rooms in Dublin are pricey, usually charging per person rather than per room so insist on the room rate or keep looking. For discounts on extended stays, try the Irish Hotel Federation or if traveling alone, consider the famous B&Bs that are the best way too to see the countryside.

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