Events
Many bars and restaurants host themed events. Kells Irish Pub and Kells Brewery host the Kells Irish Festival at Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Activities include boxing matches and live music. [3] Paddy's St. Patrick's Day Festival has food specials, Irish dancers and live music, bagpipers, and whiskey tastings. [3] The 2021 event was scaled down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. [4] In 2023, the fourteenth iteration of the event included a successful attempt to create the world's largest Irish coffee. [5] [6] Proceeds from the festival have benefitted the Children's Cancer Association. [7] Portland Monthly called these "raucous, weekend-long" celebrations. [2] Other local establishments with celebrations have included EastBurn, Jake's Famous Crawfish, [8] Kennedy School, [3] [9] Multnomah Whiskey Library, and the defunct Raven & Rose. [1] [2]
The Portland Spirit features Irish dancing and music on its annual Shamrock Cruise. [3] [10] The All-Ireland Cultural Society hosts an annual St. Patrick's Day Celebration with bagpipes, dancing, drums, live music, and Irish food and drinks. [10] The 2022 event was virtual because of the pandemic and featured Irish dancers, musicians, and singers. [11] The "St. Agatha Catholic School's Sellwood and Moreland St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festival" is held annually, but experienced a hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic. [12]
National bar crawl brand Barcrawlerz hosted a "Kiss Me I'm Irish" pub crawl. [10] The LepraCon pub crawl is organized by the team behind SantaCon; stops on the event have included Dante's and Kelly's Olympian. [10] In 2024, the St. Patrick's Day Block Party and Pub Crawl was described as the city's largest pub crawl by Willamette Week . [13]
Elsewhere in the Portland metropolitan area, the Dirty Leprechaun obstacle course race was held in Tualatin for six years, as of 2020. [14]
Shamrock Run
Established in 1979, the annual Shamrock Run is the largest running event in Oregon and the first of the year's major running events. [15] [16] [17] Hannah Seibold of the Portland Tribune has said the event "[combines] a full weekend of races with a lively St. Patrick’s Day–inspired festival atmosphere". [18] Participants often wear costumes and green clothing. [15] A festival at the finish line at Waterfront Park has live entertainment as well as food and drinks, including beer. [3] The event includes a Leprechaun Lap for children aged 10 and younger [11] and the Shamrock Showdown, which is a team competition among local running clubs. [16] The Shamrock Run is a fundraiser for Doernbecher Children's Hospital. [19] [20]
Approximately 20,000 people participated in 2019 and 2023, [11] [21] and the event has seen as many of 25,000 participants. [22] The 2020 [23] and 2021 events were canceled because of the pandemic. [16] [24] The 2022 event had approximately 15,000 participants. [25]
St. Paddy's Day Parade
The family-friendly St. Paddy's Day Parade in northeast Portland features dancing, live music, pipers, and other activities traditionally associated with Saint Patrick's Day. [3] The event was canceled in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic. [11] In 2024, The Oregonian said: "It's the 35th year for this annual parade that kicks off at Fernwood/Cleary Elementary School. Expect decorated floats, Portland community groups, a drum line, bagpipers, team mascots, kids on bikes and a color guard." [26]
