St. Patrick’s Festival events underway in Dublin as city prepares for large crowds downtown on Super Saturday
Festival leaders say thousands are expected to fill downtown Dublin for the parade and daylong celebrations on Super Saturday.
DUBLIN, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Even though Saint Patrick’s Day is not until March 17, Dublin has been celebrating with weeks of events leading up to the holiday.
Visit Dublin Executive Director Miriam Lewis says the festival has been a tradition in the community for more than 60 years. According to Lewis, the celebration began when a local radio host suggested the city should recognize and celebrate its Irish name.
Lewis says the city is currently in the middle of what is known as Super Week, a stretch of events and community gatherings that lead up to one of the biggest days of the festival: Super Saturday on March 14.
“We’re very excited to already be in the middle of the festivities right here in Super Week,” she said. “Super Week is an entire week right in the middle of festivities where we’re celebrating and going to events and having community gatherings, and it all leads up to Super Saturday.”
Super Saturday begins with a parade in downtown Dublin and continues with events throughout the day that draw large crowds each year.
“Just our downtown area, on just Super Saturday we have over 20,000 people that fill up our downtown, so it’s so awesome to see people that come back to visit friends and family, or to meet people that you’ve never seen before and hope that they do return to come see Dublin at other times of the year,” Lewis said.
With thousands expected to visit downtown, local businesses say the festival can have a big economic impact.
Matt and Suzanne Lake, owners of Saltwater Fishery, opened the restaurant in January and say they are excited to experience the celebration as business owners.
“We’ve lived in Dublin our whole lives, and so St. Patrick’s is one of the biggest holidays of the year here. We love the St. Patrick’s festivities that go on. We’ve been doing this since we were born here in Dublin, Georgia, and we love the St. Patrick’s festivities here in Dublin.”
The restaurant is hosting live music, special menu items, and plans to open early with rooftop pilates and brunch so customers can watch the parade.
