Columbia Rocks St. Pat's

Having grown up in Columbia, I always took it for granted that we had a St. Patrick's Day festival. But at this point in my life, I have spent some time in other cities, and there are not many that do-it-up for St. Pat's like Columbia. I haven't been to St. Pat's in 5 Points in probably 4 or 5 years, but I am making a day of it this year!

Here's a run-down of what you can look forward to this weekend:

image via here

8:30 am- Get to the Green 5K: My husband and I are signed up for this, (much to his chagrin), and with our race registrations, we also get a t-shirt and FREE entry to the day's festivities! (A $15 value--sweet).

10 am- St. Pat's Parade: Parade begins at Dreher High School and travels down Devine St. to 5 Pts.

10 am- 6 pm- Children's Carnival: so much fun stuff for kids-- Mad Science, puppet shows, face painting, rides, double dutch, dancing, karaoke...

12 pm- 6 pm- Live Music (everywhere): there are 4 different main stages in 5 Pts. Click here to see the line-ups at each one. I am not familiar with many of the bands that are playing, but live music is always exciting...I do know Robert Earl Keen and Jet however--they're each playing different stages at 4:45 pm.

image via here

Keeping St. Pat's Green...Anheuser-Busch Recycling Corporation, Sonoco Recycling, the Five Points Association and the City of Columbia teamed up with local civic groups during the 2009 festival to keep St. Pat’s in Five Points green.

Recycling receptacles were stationed throughout the festival area for the recycling of aluminum, glass, plastic bottles and cardboard. Nearly 3,000 pounds of bottles and cans and 1,200 pounds of cardboard was kept out of our landfills during the 2009 St. Pat’s in Five Points festival because of the recycling program. Now that’s keeping it green!

Bottom line for the day--there is something for everyone; go support our local festival--and the proceeds support local charities, so drink green beer knowing that you're helping others!

Click here for a cool interactive festival map.

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