St. Patrick's Day in Savannah
I am going a little out of order here, but on March 17th I had the pleasure of being in my hometown of Savannah, Georgia to celebrate the greenest day of the year! I have just gotten my camera fixed so I can show some pictures of the fun we had there. Here's a little background. Savannah, Georgia is a relatively small (approximately 132,000 people within the city limits) and very southern city. But on St. Patrick's Day Savannah is THE ONLY city in the world. And everyone who's ever been there Knows It!
A day in the life of a Savannah St. Patrick Day-er:
~ 7AM - wake up, quickly cover your body in green - any and all green that you have ever owned including articles of clothing, paints, glitter, stickers, head gear, Mardi Gras beads (which in Savannah are called St. Patrick Day Beads), etc. Do not let weather, current fashion trends, size or fit of these items, social status, etc. influence your decisions while dressing. Understand that there is no other function of your look or style but to be green.
~ 8AM - make the trek downtown, whether you take a taxi, drive to Oglethorpe Mall to park there to take the shuttle bus service, or do what I did and have the Jerome Butler Taxi Service (my best and only father) drive and drop off 9 people and a wheelchair on the doorstep of the parade.
~ 9AM - you should already at this point be sitting at a table in a restaurant or bar, on a blanket or lounge chair in one of the lovely Savannah squares, or in someone's downtown kitchen, dining on green grits and eggs, bacon or ham, and other breakfast foods (all dyed green), drinking a large beer, bloody mary, or any unspecified green cocktail surrounded by bright-eyed eager paraders.
~ 10AM - make your way to your parade spot. Whether on the curb of one of the wider streets or sitting in an oak and azalea covered square with everyone you ever thought you might have known in your lifetime, plus some. I recommend a corner, where the Shriners tend to do tricks in their cars, and high school bands will slow down and get their grooves on.
~ 11AM-2PM - hoot, holler, drink, cheer, rekindle friendships, drink, have some of the cooler-packed lunch (usually coleslaw and potato salad, cold cuts or ready-made sandwiches), chips, etc., drink, kiss a Keystone Cop, kiss a Benedictine high school military boy, drink, kiss a NYPD cop, reminisce about St. Patricks Days of the past, and finally cheer on the horseback riders signaling the end of the 3+ hour parade.
~ 3PM - make your way to Riverstreet. This is more difficult than it sounds, because although the parade has ended where you watched it, it has not ended everywhere. Grab any leftover sandwiches and your beer, fight the crowds lining the streets, take back alleys, run into everyone you ever knew in your lifetime, scream loudly their first and last name followed by a brief pause, then a sustained "AAAAHHHHH!!!!!" stop all forward movement to talk and catch up and see how many children they have and inform them you have none, aren't married, and don't have a job, say your goodbyes and where you can meet up later, repeat this process a minimum of 7 times, trying it at least once with people you haven't met before, and then descend the dangerously steep staircases to Riverstreet.
~ 4PM-2AM – P A R T Y. Drink green and any other colored alcoholic and/or non-alcoholic beverages (best to combine the two if you plan on staying out all night). Squeeze your body while holding the hands of your friends down the cobblestone street through the masses; luckily at this point it is actually too crowded to recognize anyone you know. Wait in lines to go into various restaurants and bars. Pause in front of the main stage to check out the local or imported bands. Visit the Port-O-Potties numerous times (at least once every 30-45 minutes) and notice how your appreciation steadily rises throughout the night for these most disgusting inventions of man. And finally make sure you increase the amount of beads you own by performing small favors or making enticing pleas to people who have more beads than you.
~ 2AM – Call Jerome Butler Shuttle Service and head home. Then continue the party quietly in the kitchen or on the back patio until you fall asleep in the shrubs or on the staircase, or successfully crash into an upstairs bed.
The End.
See these lovely photos of the event!
March 17, 2006: 9AM. On the way to the parade in the Jerome Butler Shuttle, from left to right Joe, Doug, and Davis (my brother)
March 17, 2006: 4PM. A sampling of one of the games on Riverstreet. See, there's more to do than drink.
March 17, 2006: 7PM. Riverstreet goers. Notice the Port-O-Potties in the background, random parade-goers, a lovely girl we picked up…
March 17, 2006: 7PM. What a beautiful city!
Savannah River: boat and bridge
A day in the life of a Savannah St. Patrick Day-er:
~ 7AM - wake up, quickly cover your body in green - any and all green that you have ever owned including articles of clothing, paints, glitter, stickers, head gear, Mardi Gras beads (which in Savannah are called St. Patrick Day Beads), etc. Do not let weather, current fashion trends, size or fit of these items, social status, etc. influence your decisions while dressing. Understand that there is no other function of your look or style but to be green.
~ 8AM - make the trek downtown, whether you take a taxi, drive to Oglethorpe Mall to park there to take the shuttle bus service, or do what I did and have the Jerome Butler Taxi Service (my best and only father) drive and drop off 9 people and a wheelchair on the doorstep of the parade.
~ 9AM - you should already at this point be sitting at a table in a restaurant or bar, on a blanket or lounge chair in one of the lovely Savannah squares, or in someone's downtown kitchen, dining on green grits and eggs, bacon or ham, and other breakfast foods (all dyed green), drinking a large beer, bloody mary, or any unspecified green cocktail surrounded by bright-eyed eager paraders.
~ 10AM - make your way to your parade spot. Whether on the curb of one of the wider streets or sitting in an oak and azalea covered square with everyone you ever thought you might have known in your lifetime, plus some. I recommend a corner, where the Shriners tend to do tricks in their cars, and high school bands will slow down and get their grooves on.
~ 11AM-2PM - hoot, holler, drink, cheer, rekindle friendships, drink, have some of the cooler-packed lunch (usually coleslaw and potato salad, cold cuts or ready-made sandwiches), chips, etc., drink, kiss a Keystone Cop, kiss a Benedictine high school military boy, drink, kiss a NYPD cop, reminisce about St. Patricks Days of the past, and finally cheer on the horseback riders signaling the end of the 3+ hour parade.
~ 3PM - make your way to Riverstreet. This is more difficult than it sounds, because although the parade has ended where you watched it, it has not ended everywhere. Grab any leftover sandwiches and your beer, fight the crowds lining the streets, take back alleys, run into everyone you ever knew in your lifetime, scream loudly their first and last name followed by a brief pause, then a sustained "AAAAHHHHH!!!!!" stop all forward movement to talk and catch up and see how many children they have and inform them you have none, aren't married, and don't have a job, say your goodbyes and where you can meet up later, repeat this process a minimum of 7 times, trying it at least once with people you haven't met before, and then descend the dangerously steep staircases to Riverstreet.
~ 4PM-2AM – P A R T Y. Drink green and any other colored alcoholic and/or non-alcoholic beverages (best to combine the two if you plan on staying out all night). Squeeze your body while holding the hands of your friends down the cobblestone street through the masses; luckily at this point it is actually too crowded to recognize anyone you know. Wait in lines to go into various restaurants and bars. Pause in front of the main stage to check out the local or imported bands. Visit the Port-O-Potties numerous times (at least once every 30-45 minutes) and notice how your appreciation steadily rises throughout the night for these most disgusting inventions of man. And finally make sure you increase the amount of beads you own by performing small favors or making enticing pleas to people who have more beads than you.
~ 2AM – Call Jerome Butler Shuttle Service and head home. Then continue the party quietly in the kitchen or on the back patio until you fall asleep in the shrubs or on the staircase, or successfully crash into an upstairs bed.
The End.
See these lovely photos of the event!
March 17, 2006: 9AM. On the way to the parade in the Jerome Butler Shuttle, from left to right Joe, Doug, and Davis (my brother)
March 17, 2006: 4PM. A sampling of one of the games on Riverstreet. See, there's more to do than drink.
March 17, 2006: 7PM. Riverstreet goers. Notice the Port-O-Potties in the background, random parade-goers, a lovely girl we picked up…
March 17, 2006: 7PM. What a beautiful city!
Savannah River: boat and bridge
posted at
12:20 PM
