Las Vegas Weekly

Drink and be merry … and maybe eat, too

St. Patrick’s Day provides an excuse for anyone to pretend they’re a son of Erin. And down a lot of beer. Regardless of one’s lack of Irish blood, there are drinking opportunities aplenty to get your liver in shape for the unofficial Endocrine System Super Bowl on March 17.

Get started on March 14 at the Village Craft Beer Festival at Lake Las Vegas’ Village at MonteLago (3-7 p.m., $20). Nevada’s own Buckbean Brewing Company will host the first-ever event, which benefits Southern Nevada’s Muscular Dystrophy Association. Buckbean produces two signature microbrews—Original Orange Blossom Ale and Black Noddy Lager—which will be available to sample along with many other distinctive craft beers from around the country. Local cover band The Wedge Brothers will provide the soundtrack for the day.

New York-New York’s Nine Fine Irishmen will lead a St. Patrick’s Day parade along the Brooklyn Bridge, complete with bagpipers to get the celebration started and performances by Irish groups including Ri Ra, the Celtic Rockers and U2 cover outfit Rattle and Hum. Authentic Irish cuisine, including ale-battered and spicy sausage, fish ’n chips and bangers and mash, will be served (11 a.m.-2 a.m.).

The Yard House at Town Square, which offers more than 130 beers on tap, will prepare a St. Patty’s menu featuring corned-beef brisket braised in Irish beer and Shepherd’s Pie with Guinness-stewed beef sirloin. And why not wash it down with Emerald Isle-colored Coors Light and Pyramid Hefeweisen or Irish favorites like George Killian’s Irish Red, Guinness Stout or Harp Lager?