Mercer Village hosts a day of events for St. Patrick’s celebration

The luck of the Irish was in Mercer Village on Saturday, Mar. 16, as it celebrated St. Patrick’s Day. Even though it was a bit windy, it was a warm, sunny day.
The event lasted from 11a.m. until that night with a number of different events and specials going on in the Village. Mercer Village brought back some of the Mardi Gras spirit during this celebration.
There were three parades that day at 2, 5, and 7 p.m. with awards going to the best groups. Bags and Pipes from Mercer and Southwest High School’s drum line performed during the parade.
There were various events that day: live music with bands playing in the Village, inflatables for children to play on, and people were making sidewalk art all down the street. Two bands played that day and some drag queens paraded down the street. There was also a dance group of young girls who performed African dances.
Kids and adults walked and participated in the parade. Dr. Cassidy, a local dentist, passed out dental supplies in the parade as well. There were also vendors selling their products.
The College Hill Corridor had a table where they passed out free items. They also put toy spiders around the Village and if people brought them to the table, they would receive “Village Vouchers” for food or beverages.
The five restaurants in the Village hosted Mardi Gras and St. Paddy’s Day specials. Ingleside Pizza had their special Lucky Green Pizza. Fountain of Juice had fried cod with their fish and chips, Guinness beef stew, and corned beef sandwiches on rye with sweet onions and Swiss cheese.
Beth Hyer, a Jittery Joe’s employee, said that they offered Irish Crème Mocha and Chicory coffee with green whipped cream during the St. Patrick’s Day Celebration. She says, “It was very entertaining.” Their business was steady but not too busy.
The employees were glad to get a chance to see most of the celebration in the Village.
Francar’s Buffalo Wings had an array of different specials that included beignets, seafood gumbo with crab meat and sausage, spicy shrimp po-boy sandwiches, spicy catfish strips, red beans and rice, corned beef and cabbage, Irish stew, and shepherd’s pie. Carl Fambro exclaims that they had a really great day and got lots of business. They made the seafood gumbo twice. He says, “Despite the fact that it was Spring Break and there was the Cherry Blossom Festival, the celebration was just as good as Mardi Gras. The weather was nice and we sold out of corned beef and cabbage.”
Margarita’s hosted different specials like crawfish nachos, crawfish quesadillas, corned beef tacos, hurricane drinks, and Guinness beer. The manager, Brad Cork, says, “We had a very good day. It was very successful. It seems to be the beginning of something big around Mercer Village.” He notes that it was a bit chaotic and they did the best they could. But overall, they really enjoyed the business and the celebration.
The streets were full of green luck and Irish charm on that Saturday and it went on into the night. Despite all the things going on, the St. Patrick’s Day Celebration was a complete success.