Best St. Paddy’s Events 2016

THURSDAY, MARCH 17

Beat the Clock! St. Pat’s Party
NW, DC. Beat the clock this St. Pat’s and enjoy early specials FROM 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., plus $2 green beer and $3 Guinness. From 1 to 3 p.m., enjoy $3 green beer and $4 Guinness. And from 3 to 5 p.m., grab some $4 green beer and $5 Guinness. Also, enjoy a patio party, giveaways, an Irish food menu, music and more.  IRISH WHISKEY PUBLIC HOUSE: 1207 19th St. NW, DC; 202-463-3010;  www.irishwhiskeydc.com 

Kegs & Eggs
ARLINGTON, VA. Get your St. Pat’s started early with Kegs & Eggs at 9 a.m. Then, party all day long with Tommy Gann from 12 to 4 p.m., Down Wilson from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. and Willem Dicke from 9:30 to 1:30 p.m. Also, catch Irish dancers from 12 to 5 p.m.
O’SULLIVANS: 3207 Washington Blvd. Arlington, VA; 703- 812-0939; www.osullivansirishpub.com

Paddy Hard Day
NW, DC. It’s the 17th St. Patrick’s Day in Chinatown! A $10 cover starts at 2 p.m., when the event becomes 21+.  Music by Ice Wagon Flu and Lloyd Doppler Effect. Doors open 8 a.m.  FADO IRISH PUB AND RESTAURANT: 808 7th St. NW, DC; 202-789-0066;www.fadoirishpub.com

Shamrock & Roll Bash
GAITHERSBURG, MD. Doors open early at 8 a.m. Enjoy a free Irish breakfast and $1 Guinness, Jameson, Smithwichs and Harp from 8 to 10 a.m. Catch live music from The Reagan Years during happy hour, and then Dublin 5 for late-night tunes. Look for staggered specials like $2, $3 and $4 Guinness, Jameson, Smithwich and Harp at one of the biggest St. Paddy’s Day event in Maryland.  UNION JACK’S RIO: 9811 Washingtonian Blvd. Gaithersburg, MD; 240-780-7139;  www.unionjacksrio.com

Star & Shamrock St. Pat’s
NE, DC. Always an H Street holiday hotspot, this year’s celebrations will build on Star & Shamrock’s longstanding St. Patrick’s Day party tradition of an 8 a.m. start time. Patrons can partake in an all-day array of bar and menu specials, featuring a classic house-cured corned beef and Cabbage, homemade Irish bangers and Colcannon knish, $5 Irish mule punch, $5 Jameson whiskey, and $1 off Irish draft beer. Need more? Star & Shamrock boasts an ever-expanding whiskey wall, highlighted by some of the world’s finest and rarest Irish whiskey.  STAR & SHAMROCK: 1341 H St. NE, DC; 202-388-3833; www.starandshamrock.com

St. Patrick’s Blarney Day Bash
NW, DC. Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at Mad Fox Brewing Company’s Glover Park taproom for their first annual Blarney Bash! Get silly and enjoy a live DJ spinning Top 40 music, Irish-inspired food specials, happy hour all night long, party favors and two of their locally-brewed beer releases: St. James Irish Dry Stout and Tori’s Rockstar Irish Red Ale.  MAD FOX TAPROOM: 2218 Wisconsin Ave. NW, DC; 202-791-0389; www.madfoxbrewing.com

St. Pat’s Cut Work Party
NW, DC. Get Your St. Patrick’s Day started right with $30 VIP Duffy’s cut work passes. The day includes all the brew (including Guinness) you can drink from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., NCAA opening round on all TVs, one corned beef sandwich, one Duffy’s St. Pats T-shirt (large or XL only) and Irish tunes on the juke! 11 a.m.
DUFFY’S: 2106 Vermont Ave. NW, DC; 202-462-9464;  www.dcduffys.com

St. Patrick’s at James Hoban’s
NW, DC. Enjoy nine days of St. Pat’s celebrations. Check out the Whiskey Pub Crawl on March 5, live Irish-themed trivia on March 8 and 15, live music by Ronan Kavagh and the annual whiskey dinner on March 9. On March 10, get a Guinness-engraved pint glass, and on March 12, a rubgy and Irish brunch will be followed by the annual Leprechaun Lap pub crawl. Enjoy rugby games and Irish brunch on March 13, and a second round of live music by Ronan Kavagh on March 16. Finally, top it all off with their big celebration featuring Irish lunch from 11 to 3 p.m., and live music by Peohemia and Smalltown.  JAMES HOBAN’S: 1 Dupont Circle, NW, DC; 202-223-8440; www.jameshobansdc.com  

St. Pat’s Celebration
FALLS CHURCH, VA. Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with traditional Irish-style craft beer, food specials and live music. This event will feature beer releases such as St. James Irish Dry Stout and Tori’s Rockstar Red Irish Red Ale. Also enjoy live music by Dixie Power Trio and party favors. 3 p.m. MAD FAX BREWING COMPANY: 444 W Broad St. Falls Church, VA ; 703-942-6840; www.madfoxbrewing.com

St. Patrick’s Day Stag Party
NW, DC. This St. Patrick’s Day party is perfect for after work! Enjoy bagpiping, Irish dancing, live music, green beer, Sauf Haus Bombs, free schwag and a complimentary Irish Nacho buffet. This all-day event also features music from Mike the Bag Piper, O’Neill James School of Dance Irish Dancers and the Irish rocker band IceWagon Flu. Also enjoy the “Office with the Most” contest and a green bier “stein hoisting” contest. SAUF HAUS BIER HALL: 1216 18th St. NW, DC; 202-466-3355; www.saufhausdc.com

Young Dubliners at Hamilton
NW, DC. The Young Dubliners are quite possibly Celtic rock’s hardest working band, playing hundreds of shows to thousands of fans across the US and Europe every year. In recent years they have twice appeared on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, had songs featured in TV shows (Sons Of Anarchy, Human Target) and toured extensively as a headliner and as the opener for such a diverse list of artists as Collective Soul, Jethro Tull, Johnny Lang and many more.  Hamilton: 600 14th St NW, DC; www.thehamiltondc.com

SATURDAY, MARCH 19

Clarendon Shamrock Crawl
ARLINGTON, VA. Dress up in your finest Irish greens and hit the town for a day of adventures. Who knows, you may even run into some lucky leprechauns. Whether your roots are from Ireland or you’re just Irish for the day, join thousands of revelers as they dance their way from pub to pub, enjoying drink specials bypassing cover charges. The 25 percent off promo code is “BLOG.” What you get: a signature Shamrock’s refillable mug, St. Paddy’s Day party beads, access to some of the area’s best bars, raffle entry for great prizes, free pictures of the event and tons of specials along the way! 1 p.m.  CLARENDON BALLROOM: 3185 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA; 703- 469-2244;  www.theshamrockcraw

Luck O’ the Irish Madison Party Brunch
NW, DC. Join The Madison and DJ ESSO for their annual Luck O’ The Madison Party Brunch as they take over the top floor of Irish Whiskey Public House. Your $35 ticket includes a brunch buffet, bottomless mimosas and DJ ESSO ShamRockin’ the entire time. Ten dollars from every ticket will directly benefit Irish Whiskey Public House’s 2016 charity, Dreams for Kids, DC. 12 p.m.  IRISH WHISKEY PUBLIC HOUSE: 1207 19th St. NW, DC; 202-463-3010;  www.irishwhiskeydc.com

St. Paddy’s Day Party
CROZET, VA. Starr Hill Brewery is bringing the luck of the Irish, and they’ll be turning the Tap Room into its own Irish pub, featuring Blackthorn, an Irish-style stout collaboration brewed with O’Hara’s/Carlow Brewing Company. Enjoy a selection of special beers being poured and paired with delicious food from a trio of local chefs competing in a “St. Piggy’s Throwdown.” Also, live music from the Albemarle Pipes & Drums, Ken & Mike Farmer and Jon Spear Band, plus a limerick-writing contest, jig dancing and lots of giveaway prizes. One dollar for every beer sold will be donated to the National MS Society’s Virginia/West Virginia chapter. Tickets are only $17 in advance or $20 at the door and include three tokens, each redeemable for one beer or food serving, plus a limited edition 20-oz. St. Paddy’s Day mug. Slainte!  STARR HILL BREWERY: 5391 Three Notched Rd. Crozet, VA; 434- 823-5671; www.starrhill.com