2019 St. Patrick's Day fun for Siouxland Families

Valentine's Day is over, so down come the hearts and up go the shamrocks! If you too love the wearin' of the green, shamrock shakes, leprechauns and rainbows, blarney and shenanigans, you're in the right place. There are tons of things to do for St. Patrick's Day in Sioux City and in nearby cities (and cities a wee bit farther away), and here are some of my top picks:

St. Patrick's Day Shenanigans in Sioux City

The Sioux City Saint Patrick's Day Parade

• The Sioux City St. Patrick's Day parade will be held on Sunday, March 17th 2019
• The Sioux City St. Patrick's Day parade begins at 3pm
• The Sioux City St. Patrick's Day parade route runs on 4th Street from Iowa Street to Water Street
• Don't forget to bring green hats, gloves, scarves, etc--it's usually cold on Saint Patrick's Day in Sioux City and a cute t-shirt might not be visible!
• Kids are encouraged to bring bags to keep their treasures in--this is a parade that hands out candy and more
• The Sioux City St. Patrick's Day parade is also visible from the skywalk system, which has 3 bridges that cross 4th street along the parade route.
• For more information or to sign up to participate, visit the Sioux City St. Patrick's Day Parade website

Other Sioux City Shenanigans

• Sun 3/10
• 2pm: Irish music from Sioux Falls based band Ceili at the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center
• Sat 3/16
• 10am-noon: Rainbow crafts at Michael's Crafts, $2-5 depending on options chosen
• 11am: How to Catch a Leprechaun storytime at Barnes & Noble 
• 1pm: Kindness Rocks rock painting event at the Sioux City Public Museum, hosted by the Original Siouxland Rocks group, featuring shamrocks and other festive shapes!
• 2pm: Leprechauns and Limericks special event at Barnes & Noble

St. Patrick's Day Shenanigans within 2 hours of Sioux City

Teada of Ireland

• Teada will be live at the Prairie Winds Events Center in Orange City on March 8th at 7:30pm
• Teada is a group of musicians from Ireland who play traditional instruments to bring listeners a taste of classic Irish music. If you're looking for jigs and reels, they'll be your cup of Irish breakfast tea for sure!
• For more information or to buy tickets, go here. 
• To hear a bit of Teada's music, check out their YouTube channel

St. Patrick's Day in Sioux Falls

• Sioux Falls St. Patrick's Day Parade
• The Sioux Falls St. Patrick's Day Parade will be held on Saturday, March 16th at 2pm
• The Sioux Falls St. Patrick's Day Parade route runs along Phillips Avenue from 13th Street to 4th Street
• The painting of the shamrock at 9th Street and Phillips Avenue will begin at 11am 
• For more information or to sign up to participate, go here.
• Sioux Falls Irish restaurants:
• McNally's Irish Pub at 69th & Western offers a variety of Irish & American fare. Must be 21+ to enter except on Sundays, when all ages are welcome. Visit their website for more info.
• Blarney Stone Irish Pub, 333 South Phillips Ave claims to be Sioux Fall's most authentic Irish pub. Must be 21+ to enter. For more info, visit their website.
• Mrs. Murphy's Irish Gifts
• Located at 219 South Phillips in downtown Sioux Falls, Mrs. Murphy's is the closest Irish giftshop to Sioux City, and is full of all the charm, shamrocks, tea, lace and Belleek you'd imagine! Visit their website for more info.

St. Patrick's Day in Omaha

There's a huge variety of fun options for celebrating St. Patrick's Day in the Omaha area. For more details on all the fun in March this Omaha, visit the Oh My Omaha blog (currently linking to her 2018 post and will update once her 2019 post is up!)  Here are a few of the highlights of the St. Patrick's Day events in Omaha:

• Omaha St. Patrick's Day parade will be held on Saturday, March 9th at 10am through the Old Market starting from 15th and Harney, with a party to follow at the Old Mattress Factory featuring Irish music, food, and more
• The Hooley is a family friendly St. Patrick's Day bash at the Omaha Firefighters Hall on Sunday, March 3rd from noon to 6pm, with live Irish music and dancing , and a festive silent auction, plus Irish food including Irish stew, Irish coffee, and a full bar. $10 for adults, $5 for kids, or $30 for families. More info here.
• Find Irish food and drink in Omaha at the Brazen Head Irish Pub, Paddy McGown's, and more

St. Patrick's Day Roadtrips

Willing to drive a bit further for an epic St. Patrick's Day celebration? Check out some of these options:

• O'Neill, Nebraska:
• about 2 and a half hours west of Sioux City, O'Neill is the "Irish Capital of Nebraska" and has the world's largest shamrock, not to mention a spectacular St. Patrick's Day parade, Shamrock Fun Run, a green eggs & ham breakfast, live music and dancing throughout the week, and much more. For full schedule and details, check out the O'Neill, Nebraska website
• Kansas City
• Kansas City has one of the best St. Patrick's Day parades in the Midwest downtown ending in the Westport area, plus more than a half a dozen other great St. Patrick's Day parades in the metro area in March, including Snake Saturday in North Kansas City. You can also join in the Westport St. Patrick's Day run and tons of other shamrock filled fun. For more info, visit the KC Parents St. Patrick's Day post (this currently links to their 2018 post, but I will update with the 2019 post once it is up!)
• Chicago
• Chicago consistently makes pretty much every list of best places in the entire world to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. For more info on their epic celebrations including a huge parade downtown and the dyeing of the Chicago River green, check out the Chicago Parent website.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!