(Correction: An earlier version of this story listed The Pump as open. It is closed Saturday but will open for Sunday service. NonDoc regrets the error.)
What a crappy past couple of years it has been for holidays — real and observed — falling on weekends. This past Valentine’s Day was on a Wednesday. Before that, New Year’s Day and Christmas both fell on Mondays. In 2017, Halloween and the Fourth of July fell on freakin’ Tuesdays.
It’s fortuitous, then, at least for those with either an Irish heritage or a penchant for acting so once a year, that St. Patrick’s Day 2018 falls on a Saturday. In turn, most revelers will have built-in freedom to celebrate as they please with the promise of a Sunday morning waiting to ease them back into the work week. It’s a fleeting opportunity, too: According to Father Time, St. Patrick’s Day won’t fall on a Saturday again until 2029.
To help our readers take advantage of this chronological oddity, NonDoc offers the following event guide to Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations all over the OKC metro.
Best bets for the bar scene
Even without specific advertising or plans, chances are most any bar you walk into on Saturday will have some kind of Irish-themed event or drink special. The following entries appear because of their explicit attempts to promote St. Pat’s-themed happenings at their establishments. Events begin Saturday and often conclude early Sunday.
Bricktown
Bricktown Block Party featuring pitcher specials until 5 p.m. | noon – midnight
Tapwerks annual block party 2018. | noon – midnight
Downtown
Jones Assembly | Opens at 11 a.m.
Midtown
Bleu Garten | 11 a.m. – 2 a.m.
Fasseler Hall will have drink specials for those of Irish-slash-Bavarian descent. | 11 a.m. – 2 a.m.
R&J Lounge & Supper Club will feature full-Irish breakfasts with bangers and mash as well as $5 Guinness Stout and $5 Irish Car Bombs.
McNellie’s OKC presents its ninth annual St. Patrick’s Day party | 10 a.m. – 1 a.m.
The Paseo
Picasso Café offers an Irish brunch | 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Plaza District
Drink specials and traditional Irish music will be featured all day at Saints, while The Mule and The Press will also be slangin’ sips on the sham-rocks.
Norman
O’Connell’s 50th annual St. Patrick’s Celebration | 7 a.m.
Uptown
Ponyboy will launch its St. Patrick Swayze party, featuring an all-you-can-drink beer bust for $25 from noon to 10 p.m. | 11 a.m. – 2 a.m. Sunday
Rockford, Bunker Club and Blue Note will also host throngs of local bar crawlers, if only by proxy. For those who make it to midnight in Uptown, reward yourself with a lively screening of cult-favorite The Room at Tower Theatre.
Family-friendly events on Saturday
If you’re more of a family-type person looking to avoid the green beer-soaked masses, load up your little leprechauns and head to the following venues that feature a more family-friendly setting for celebrating Irish culture and heritage.
O’City St. Patrick’s Fest and Parade | 11 a.m.
Myriad Gardens: Go Green, St. Patrick’s Day in the Gardens | noon – 4 p.m.
Stockyard City Parade | 10 a.m. – noon
Oklahoma City Zoo will host kids’ events. | 10 a.m. – 11:30 am.
Riversport OKC opens for the 2018 season. | 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Energy FC Opening Night | 7 p.m.
