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Best bets: March 17 to 23

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St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Today, March 17

Need a reminder? Today’s the day to put green into play. Shake your shillelagh and head to Greene Square Park for prime viewing of SaPaDaPaSo’s 36th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, stepping lively around downtown Cedar Rapids from 1 to 3 p.m. Awards and free festivities follow at 3rd Street Saloon, with Irish jigs and such from Glenn Lonsdale and Carlis Faurot. Wylde Nept takes over at

7 p.m. Admission is $10. Green beer and Irish brews will be flowing from many a tap and corned beef and cabbage will make cameo appearances on menus, too. Just be sure ye be wearin’ some green before leaving home, lest you spend the day getting pinched.

Coming downtown, we have the scoop on where to park.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade
1 p.m. today (3/17), downtown Cedar Rapids; www.sapadapaso.org

 

Orchestra Iowa: Verdi Requiem
Saturday and Sunday, March 19 and 20

Orchestra Iowa is ready to rattle the rafters for the first time in the new 1,000-seat concert hall at Prairie High School, with Verdi’s stunning Requiem. This is one Mass for the Dead that could wake the dead. Think you don’t know this work? Think again. You’ll immediately recognize the terrifying “Dies Irae” (Day of Wrath), even if you haven’t seen the movies “Battle Royale” and “Water Drops on Burning Rocks.” Vocal soloists, Cedar Rapids Concert Chorale and the Coe College Concert Choir add to the passion and pathos of this masterwork. There is a free insight discussion an hour before concerts.

 Orchestra Iowa: Verdi Requiem
7:30 p.m. Saturday (3/19) and 2:30 p.m. Sunday (3/20), The Concert Hall at College Community, 401 76th Ave. SW, Cedar Rapids; $15 to $40, (319) 366-8203, www.orchestraiowa.org

 

7 Walkers
March 24

San Francisco ’60s meets some Cajun soul when a few friends join the Grateful Dead’s drummer Bill Kreutzmann in the new supergroup 7 Walkers. The rest of the impressive lineup includes voodoo guitarist Papa Mali, multi-instrumentalist Matt Hubbard (Willie Nelson, Fastball) and bass player George Porter Jr. (The Meters, Funky Meters). The Dead’s lyricist, Robert Hunter, cowrote most of the songs with Papa Mali, in a vein Kreutzmann calls “swampadelic.” Sounds trippy — and intriguing, with such Southern-drenched titles as “Mr. Okra,” “New Orleans Crawl,” “Louisiana Rain” and “King Cotton Crawl.” Get your beads ready for some post-Mardi Gras fiery funk.

 7 Walkers
8 p.m. March 24, Englert Theatre, 221 E. Washington St., Iowa City;
$20-$25, (319) 688-2653, www.englert.org or www.7walkers.com

Shamrockin’ round CR

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The Hoopla Crew went on a marathon bar crawl on St Paddy’s Day. Seven bars. Less than seven hours. Let’s just say, we’re rock stars.

But, so are you Cedar Rapids. We had a serious throwdown at DC’s. Let’s just say there were frozen tee shirts being banged on all available surfaces. And at the Irish District we discovered that Cedar Rapids is full of talented hula hoopers. Who knew, right?

Check out photos from our stops at DC’s, Moose McDuffy’s, Shawn Ryans, Mahoney’s, Paddy’s and O’Malleys.

And for even more photos of the revelry around town yesterday, go here.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade

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Dont’ miss the 37th annual SaPaDaPa So Parade March 17 in Cedar Rapids.

When: 1 p.m.

Where: The parade begins on 6th St. SE. It then travels down 2nd Avenue, turning onto 2nd Street SE, and back up 3rd Avenue, concluding in Greene Square Park.

Watch it: If you can’t make it out amongst the leprechauns and mayhem , watch the parade LIVE at www.kcrg.com/streaming.

Hoopla extra: Post-parade celebrations and awards will be in the Crowne Plaza Hotel Ballroom. Music by Glenn Lonsdale and Carlis Faurot. Irish danching by the Ballet Academy.

Katie and Maggie’s Five Favorite things about being Irish

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Maggie

Maggie

Katie

Katie Giorgio, 28, Cedar Rapids
Marketing Assistant @ Linn County Nonprofit Resource Center and Freelance Writer

Maggie Mills, 23, Cedar Rapids
Distribution Call Center Specialist @ Yellowbook

 

 

 

 

 

 

no. 01
Family
OK, so our last names may not give it away, but we’ve got one big Irish family who loves, well, being Irish. And when we get together, we joke and laugh (with good Irish humor) and talk all at once (our gift of gab). Generations before us have taught of the importance of family and faith, loyalty and love and we plan to pass that legacy on. Our family is incredibly proud of our Irish heritage and we like to think we are incredibly lucky to be a part of it.
P.S. That leprechaun on the cover is our brother. We used our Irish charm to convince him to do that!

 

no. 02
The Motherland
We both lived in Ireland during semesters abroad and truly fell in love with the Emerald Isle. The sights – from the Cliffs of Moher to the River Liffey – are as picture perfect as the postcards we sent home. We tried our best to pick up the brogue and soak up every ounce of Irish culture we could, which required many visits to local pubs. While we may not agree on the best city in Ireland (Maggie insists Dublin, Katie says Galway) we’d both go back in a heartbeat. ‘Tis grand!

no. 03
Dancing
We started taking Irish Stepdancing lessons as little girls. We’ve danced jigs and reels in parades – from Cedar Rapids to Atlanta – and competed in many a feis (we’ve got the medals to prove it.) Even now, Iively Irish music gets our toes tapping. And while we don’t bring out the dance as often anymore (refer to no. 05 if you’re curious) we’re proud that as wee lasses we learned how to Irish Stepdance long before Riverdance took the stage. Take that Michael Flatley!

no. 04
Freckles
Who needs to wear a little green to prove you’re Irish when you’ve got freckles? We’ve grown to love our fair skin sprinkled with freckles (especially when it helped us fit in a wee bit more when we lived in Ireland.) Katie’s even jealous because someone here in “the States”, as they say, once told Maggie she looked like she was “straight off the boat”…and she wasn’t even eating potatoes!

no. 05
Pints!
Not to dwell on stereotypes, but every good Irishwoman loves a good pint, or two! Guinness, Harp, Smithwick’s and Bulmers all get high marks in our book. (It’s true they all taste better over there.) And while Guinness is certainly not for everyone, (admittedly Katie only drinks it with Blackcurrant) the Irish have a way of brewing the best. And so as the Irish would say this St. Patrick’s Day, Sláinte!

3 Things to do on St. Paddy’s Day

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Wylde Nept
Tuesday, March 17 @ 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Eastern Iowa’s premier Celtic pub band has been entertaining the day’s kilt-wearing masses for years, playing traditional and original songs suitable for both hoisting a pint and dancing a jig, preferably at the same time.
Singer Westan James and his band mates definitely know how to host an Irish-themed party, and you can bet they’re going to put on a great show. Read a profile of the band and hear clips of their music at www.HooplaNow.com
There are two chances to hear Wylde Nept this St. Paddy’s Day. Start your day off with the band on the Z 102.9′s Morning Show with Schulte & Swann at 7 a.m. If that’s too early, head to 1st Avenue LIVE, 3701 First Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids at 7 p.m.

Wylde Nept
7 p.m., Tuesday, March 17, 1st Avenue LIVE, 3701 First Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids, $10, www.1stavelive.com

SaPaDaPaSo Parade
Tuesday March 17 @ 1 p.m.
For many regional residents, Irish or not, St. Patrick’s Day means drinking green beer, watching the SaPaDaPaSo parade in downtown Cedar Rapids. This year marks the 34th annual parade organized by, SaPaDaPaSo (named for the first two letters of the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade Society) the non-profit volunteer-run organization that organizes Cedar Rapids annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
The first parade lasted four minutes and was a block and a half long. The parade, always held on March 17, regardless of weather, draws tens of thousands of spectators and winds throughout downtown.

SaPaDaPaSo Parade
1 p.m., Tuesday, March 17, downtown Cedar Rapids, www.sapadapaso.org


Bar2Bar 5k
Sunday, March 15 @1 p.m.
A 5K? Between bars. We know what you’re thinking. Don’t think of it as a run. Think of it as a distance journey. Really, what does it mean to “run” anyway? The Bar2Bar 5k is really more like a fast walk. A fast walk from Mahoneys to Paddy O’Rourkes to J.M. O’Malley’s to the Homeport to Just Jule’s to The Green Gable and back to the Irish District (Mahoneys and Paddy’s).
Their motto: Social Drinkers with a Running Problem, says it all. The race isn’t sanction or have a cost. Organizers just ask that you bring cash, drinking toasts and Irish spirit.

Bar2Bar 5K
1 p.m., Sunday, March 15, Mahoneys, H Ave NE & 16th St NE, Cedar Rapids, FREE, www.bar2bar.org

Three Other Things

Patty Larkin
8 p.m. Thursday (3/12)
CSPS, 1103 Third St SE, Cedar Rapids, $17 advance, $20 day show, (319) 364-1580, www.legionarts.com

Karan Casey Band, St. Patrick’s Day show
8 p.m. Saturday (3/14)
CSPS, 1103 Third St SE, Cedar Rapids, $19 advance, $22 day of show , (319) 364-1580, www.legionarts.com

Asteria and My Hidden Track
noon to 3 p.m. Tuesday (3/17)
Volume, 329 2nd Ave., Cedar Rapids, www.myspace.com/volumecr

Jamie Kelly is Just Sayin’

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Jamie is 3rd from the right.

Jamie is 3rd from the right.

The soundtrack of my childhood included some unusual artists: The Clancy Brothers, The Irish Rovers. Being Irish is part of me. I was raised to be proud of where my family came from. My grandfather emigrated in the early 20th century, and on the other side, my family came from Ireland in the 1880s.

The family room was filled with vinyl albums, which, in turn, were filled with Irish songs: some traditional, some political, some a bit of both. At night, my father would sing them to my brother and I as we got ready for bed.

I took those songs to heart. By the time I was in high school, I was rediscovering the collection of Irish music, and adding to it.

Last May, a dozen of us went to Ireland. For some, it was the first trip, others of us had been there before. We loved it. My little brother and sister were raised on the same songs, and they were thrilled to see people performing them live, not for people who were fascinated by the Irish, but for people who actually were Irish.

But there’s more there than the music. We were stunned over and over again at how gorgeous it is.

One day, we took a 45-minute boat ride to Skellig Michael, a tiny rock where, for 600 years monks eked out an existence. We visited the forge where my great-great-grandfather learned to be a blacksmith - today it’s a garage in a little town an hour outside of Dublin. We spent a day in Dublin, and walked the same streets James Joyce, one of my favorite authors, did during his formative years.

In Kinsale, my brother got chased off someone’s property while looking for the spot King James II fled from in 1690 – but that’s a story for another time, perhaps.

I’ve never done much for St. Patrick’s Day. Maybe I’d go to a concert, or watch my younger siblings march in a parade, but usually nothing.

My grandfather didn’t like St. Patrick’s Day. He said he was Irish the rest of the year, too, and he didn’t like people using his heritage as an excuse to get drunk.

I understand where he was coming from, but I have a hard time faulting anyone for being happy to be Irish, even if it’s for one day a year.

After all, if he hadn’t been so proud of it, the rest of us wouldn’t be that way today.

So next week, I probably won’t be at the bars – though if I do go, I’ll probably know all the words to the songs the bands play.