What to Know
- The Pacific Wheel will sparkle with shamrocks and other lucky images each night through March 19
- Free celebrations: The Original Farmers Market will raise a glass on March 17, Shoreline Village will revel on March 18, and the Bowers Museum hosts a family fest on March 19
- Tavern-style celebrating is afoot at spots like the Tam O'Shanter and Tom Bergin's Public House
The concept of "shining" plays a part in so many Irish fables, songs, and legends. Eyes can shine, yes, and so can gold, and catching a gorgeous glint from a far-off rainbow?
That feels very lucky, indeed.
But the shine may be strongest in Santa Monica on St. Patrick's Night, when the Pacific Wheel presents a light program featuring shamrocks and symbols that pay sky-high homage to the holiday.
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The free-to-see happening can be enjoyed in person or via the Pacific Wheel's webcam. And oh yes: If the evening of March 17 finds you busily making merry, the solar-powered Ferris wheel's holiday show will continue to sparkle throughout the weekend, concluding at around 12:30 a.m. each evening.
Other free festivities await: The Original Farmers Market will have daytime bagpipes and traditional folk music in the early evening, all to complement the famous corned beef served at Magee's Kitchen, one of the landmark's oldest tenants.
Shoreline Village's large-scale Mardi Gras celebration was postponed due to rain last month, so it is becoming a Shamrockin' Mardi Gras on March 18. Entry to the Long Beach gathering is free.
The Bowers Museum in Santa Ana is hosting a free family festival, a lark with St. Patrick's Day flair, on March 19. Craic in the Stone will bring the songs, dancers from the O'Connor Kennedy Academy of Irish Dance will perform, and Scottish cookies will be served.
As for traditional raise-a-mug parties, the kind that will fill out much of the festive Friday?
The Tam O'Shanter's always outsized St. Paddy's Day Bash is in the swing in Atwater Village on March 17, with a VIP option, outdoor tents, lots of eats, and music, too. It all begins at noon.
The Auld Dubliner's schedule of bands is vibrant, with The Whooligans starting things off at 1 o'clock. The place to be? It's in Long Beach, not far from the water.
Tom Bergin's Public House has long been a mid-city draw, with an early start, live bagpipes, and a DJ (yep, there'll be Irish tunes in addition to an assortment of songs).
And in Santa Monica? O'Brien's Irish Pub & Restaurant is breaking out the fiddling early, and a host of entertainment offerings, on March 17.
