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TheBuzz Erika Engle |
STAR-BULLETIN FILE
Kristi Cain and Natalie Davis enjoyed the festivities at a previous St. Patrick's Day Block Party along Nuuanu Avenue and Merchant Streets.
Irish for a day
Honolulu, Waikiki will temporarily turn
emerald during St. Patty's Day festivitiesTHE Emerald Isle of Ireland has no snakes. Lush, green Hawaii is a bunch of islands with no snakes. In the case of the former, legend has it that along with his activities converting pagans to Catholicism, St. Patrick invoked God's curse to drive all venomous snakes into the sea.
We might as well celebrate the accomplishment too.
The usual suspects among Irish-themed local businesses and organizations will make sure no blarney stone is left unturned. Hawaii's Irish-folk will burst forth tomorrow with the celebration of St. Patrick's Day and all things Irish.
The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick will stage its 37th annual St. Patrick's Day Parade through Waikiki starting at noon.
By then, however, the merriment will have begun downtown, as Murphy's Bar & Grill will kick off its 17th annual celebration at 11 a.m.
Murphy's sells a couple hundred lunches and dinners on a normal day, said Murphy's owner, Don Murphy. Tomorrow, that leaps to somewhere between 6,000 and 8,000. All the food and beer service will be handled not just in the pub, but in a tent set up in the Bank of Hawaii parking lot, across the street.
The streets will close at 6 p.m. to make way for the huge annual block party that ends at 11 p.m., according to www.gomurphys.com.
STAR-BULLETIN FILE
Crowded streets are the norm during downtown Honolulu's St. Patrick's Day Block Party outside Murphy's Bar & Grill.
Murphy will serve thousands of oysters, 1,000 pounds of corned beef, special Irish quesadillas in a partnership with Compadres Bar & Grill, Gaelic steak, Blarney Burgers, "and my wife makes desserts," he said. Cheesecakes and Irish whisky cake will be among the sweeter offerings.
O'Toole's Irish Pub owners Bill Comerford and Frederick Remington have been in cahoots with Murphy in preparation for tomorrow's festivities and will have live entertainment rotating between O'Toole's and The Irish Rose Saloon and Kelley O'Neil's in Waikiki, starting at 1 p.m.
"It's our first year with O'Toole's," said Remington, who with partner Comerford bought O'Toole's in July. They are vice president and president, respectively, of E & J Lounge Operating Co., which is also parent company of The Irish Rose and Kelley O'Neil's.
Kelley O'Neil's will have traditional dishes such as corned beef and cabbage, chowder and stew "from 11 a.m. until it runs out," said Remington. "And Guinness," Comerford added.
The E & J pubs will each have a patron-bearing trolley in the Waikiki parade, after which one of the trolleys will shuttle revelers between the Waikiki pubs and downtown for the block party.
The parade starts at Fort DeRussy, and will head down Kalakaua Avenue to Kapahulu Avenue. The official post-parade party will be at the Elks Club in Waikiki, said Kevin Kelly, president and parade chairman.
Marchers will include members of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and other organizations such as Clan Na Gael, Celtic Pipes and Drums, the Royal Hawaiian Band, military bands, beauty queens, car clubs, Damien High School and, in keeping with tradition, eighth-graders from St. Patrick's School.
Bars and restaurants such as Fox and Hounds will also participate, as will "assorted clowns and leprechauns," Kelly said.
On most days, Kelly is the University of Hawaii managing director for EPSCor, the experimental program to stimulate competitive research. It works to give university faculty, government agencies and the private sector tools to better compete for federal grants, he said.
Has Kelly taken Thursday off?
No, just Wednesday.
"My green flu is pretty much quantified to one day," he laughed.
Celebrate!
Downtown
17th Annual St. Patrick's Day Block Party>> When: 11 a.m. -11 p.m. tomorrow
>> Where: Corner of Merchant Street and Nuuanu Avenue closes at 6 p.m. for the event
>> Food service: Murphy's Bar & Grill and across the street in the Bank of Hawaii parking lot
>> FYI: Live music from 1:30 p.m. to midnight at O'Toole's Irish Pub, from 6:30 p.m. at Murphy's
Waikiki
37th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade>> When: Noon tomorrow
>> Where: Starts at Fort DeRussy, heads down Kalakaua Avenue to Kapahulu Avenue. Winds up with an after-party at the Elks' Club
>> Shuttle service: Between Waikiki pubs and downtown; block party will follow parade
>> FYI: Live music from 1 p.m. at the Irish Rose Saloon and Kelley O'Neil's
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at: eengle@starbulletin.com
