St. Patrick's Day fun for Siouxland Families

*Most 2020 St. Patrick's Day parades and other events have been cancelled in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. Check out my post on Coronavirus-related cancellations for more information and please stay home this St. Patrick's Day*

When Valentine's Day is over, 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 St. Patrick's Day, Tuesday, March 17th in 2020
• The Sioux City St. Patrick's Day parade time begins at 6pm.
• 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 Sioux City 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 3/15: Shamrocks & Lavender harp performance at the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center
• Sun 3/22: Back to the Emerald Isle concert with the Sioux Falls Ceili Band at the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center

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

Celtic Celebration Concert with the Browns

• Gospel singers the Browns will be performing traditional and inspirational Celtic music from Danny Boy to You Raise Me Up and Amazing Grace at the Browns Century Theater in LeMars with 4 showtimes this March:
• Thursday, March 12th at 7pm
• Friday, March 12th at 7pm
• Saturday, March 13th at 1:30pm
• Thursday, March 26th at 7pm
• Tickets start at $10 for kids or $20 for adult for just the show, or $15 for kids and $34 for adults for dinner & a show

Rend Collective Live in Sioux Center

• The popular contemporary Christian band from Ireland will be performing at Dordt University on Saturday, March 14th at 7pm.
• Tickets start at $18 for groups & Dordt students w/ ID and $20 for general admission.
• More information available on the Rend Collective website.

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 14th, 2020
• 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 TBA 
• 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.

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 is usually held in 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 2020 parade will be held on Saturday, March 14th beginning at 10am.
• The Hooley is a family friendly St. Patrick's Day bash at the Omaha Firefighters Hall. This year's Hooley will be held on Sunday, March 1st, 2020 from noon to 6pm. 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 Rib and Chili Cookoff at the Manning Hausbarn-Heritage Park

• The Manning Hausbarn-Heritage Park will be hosting their 3rd Annual St. Patrick's Day Rib and Chili Cookoff starting at 5pm on 3/7/2020 
• The event will feature delicious food, auction items including fun a wide variety of goods from local Iowa stores, plus getaways to Iowa and Nebraska destinations like the Hard Rock in Sioux City and Kings Pointe Resort!
• Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door, and are available several location in Manning, or to order tickets in advance from Sioux City, e-mail Events@GermanHausbarn.com or call (712)655-3131

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. 
• 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!!!