by Mary Poletti
2008 St. Patrick's Day Parade in downtown St. Louis.
Among the many things St. Louisans like are their heritage, parades, and drinking. Anything that combines these three is particularly special to us. So naturally, St. Patrick’s Day is a banner day in the Gateway City.
Many outsiders don’t realize that, at last count, 8.6 percent of St. Louis residents were descended from Irish heritage, though it certainly makes sense in light of St. Louis’ very strong Catholic tradition. So intertwined are Irish and Catholics that the famous regulation against eating meat on Fridays during Lent is lifted whenever St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Friday. There was much gnashing of teeth when the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day fell during the penitent period of Holy Week, the run-up to Easter, two years ago. But anyway… Unofficially speaking, the highest concentration of Irish St. Louisans is in Dogtown, the informally designated City neighborhood that lies immediately south of Forest Park (comprising parts of Clayton/Tamm, Franz Park, and Ellendale). The Irish Catholic lay organization Ancient Order of Hibernians (think Knights of Columbus, but just for Irish guys) has a chapter based in Dogtown parish St. James the Greater, and Irish flags and shamrocks decorate this area year-round. You can imagine how nuts these folks go for St. Patrick’s Day — and it’s infectious.
2008 St. Patrick's Day parade in downtown St. Louis.
For St. Louisans, nothing quite captures the mood and spirit of a significant holiday like a bunch of people marching down the street in outlandish costumes, performing choreographed dances, playing various instruments, and throwing candy and beads at other people lining the street with alcoholic beverages. Yes, the parade is a beloved tradition on many St. Louis holidays. Many St. Louisans love parades enough to put on at least two for a given holiday, and St. Patrick’s Day is one of those holidays special enough to occasion two parades. The St. Louis parade, organized by the Metropolitan St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee, is typically held downtown on the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day and includes a 5K run. The main event in many partiers’ eyes, however, is not this affair often ranked among the country’s top St. Patrick’s Day parades, but rather the Hibernians-sponsored parade down Tamm Avenue in Dogtown on St. Patrick’s Day proper and the Irish Festival that follows it. Anything else is child’s play. Take off work for a parade? Sure…
2008 St. Patrick's Day Parade in downtown St. Louis.
More than an excuse to have a parade, St. Louisans love an excuse to drink. Our fair city recently made lists of the drunkest and craziest towns in America — and was offended not to be ranked higher on the drunk list. We were once the beer-brewing capital of America, and one of the biggest beer companies in the world still brews here. Drinking is not only a part of St. Louis’s heritage, it’s in our blood (and indeed, sometimes booze constitutes a higher-than-desirable percentage of our blood). So any holiday whose celebration traditionally centers on drinking is going to be a beloved one for us. Not that we typically NEED an excuse to drink, mind you, but on St. Patrick’s Day we’re permitted and even encouraged to do so. Recognizing the shitshow that a heavily Irish neighborhood like Dogtown is bound to become on St. Patrick’s Day, the Hibernians don’t place excessive restrictions on their parade and festival attendees: No glass containers, try to keep your coolers out of one another’s way, don’t drink and drive, and keep it family-friendly. These regulations meet with varied success, but a good time is had by all, to be sure.
St. Louisans love St. Patrick’s Day because it affords them an opportunity to embrace their heritage — not just their ethnic heritage, but their longstanding tradition of being able to throw one heck of a party. Sure, Boston is known for its gigantic Irish population and its Celtic-flavored punk bands, but it’s hard to justify traveling that far for one day. And sure, the rivers run green in Chicago, but who cares about those uppity Cubbies fans anyway…
Mary Poletti is a journalist and graduate student in Columbia, Mo., a native of Belleville, Ill., and a former resident of Maplewood and the City’s North Hampton neighborhood. She doesn’t have a drop of Irish blood, but she’ll see you in Dogtown tomorrow.
stuff st. louisans like 