While we know most tax professionals will equate March 17 this year with filing partnership and S corporation returns, most of the rest of the world will actually be celebrating dear old St. Paddy.
For those who can’t break away from their desks to celebrate, we thought you’d like to know what’s happening away from your computers:1
- In Portland, Maine, they’ll be taking the Paddy’s Day Plunge into the Atlantic Ocean at 5:30 a.m., where the average water temperature is around 40 degrees;
- In New Orleans, where a good parade and party can never be resisted, they’ll be flocking down to the Irish Channel neighborhood for a huge street party, where many will be participating in a cabbage food fight;
- Chicago, my old hometown, turns its river bright green, which is definitely a step up from the murky green it used to be; and
- Not to be outdone is Hot Springs, Arkansas, which manages to host an hour-long parade over a 98-foot bridge. How can it be an hour long? Well, there’s the Blarney Stone kissing contest … and of course Elvis impersonators.
But these celebrations are not limited to Ireland, the U.S., or even the world. In Montserrat, a Caribbean island, the festivities last 10 days, and St. Patrick’s Day, where both the saint and a slave rebellion are celebrated, you’ll find residents partaking in a calypso competition and eating Creole food.
St. Patrick’s Day is even celebrated on the international space station, where you will find the astronauts belting out an out-of-this world rendition of “Danny Boy” and playing the Irish flute.
As for me, I may be sitting at my desk that day, but I’ll not be alone. I’ve found a fabulous new Irish drink: a Boozy Shamrock Shake, with a little vanilla ice cream, milk, Irish crème de menthe, and a not so little amount of Bailey’s Irish Cream. Care to join me?
