When I told my oldest that we were invited to Dublin for St. Patrick's Day weekend by the Dublin Visitor and Convention Bureau he was beside himself. After I explained we were going to Dublin, Ohio he said with confusion, "There's a Dublin in Ohio?"
There are actually nine cities named Dublin in the U.S. and if you count townships, the number is eleven. Dublin, Ohio, rated one of the top 10 places to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, is where we would be celebrating the weekend before St. Patrick's feast day. The city of Dublin really lived up to the slogan, "Irish is an attitude."
We started the day at the Dublin Lions Club's 37th Annual St. Patrick’s Pancake Breakfast - all you can eat! It was busy, but not overly crowded. Plus, the pancakes were pretty tasty, too! The Lions Club also has a yearly raffle and silent auction. Unfortunately, we missed getting tickets but enjoyed watching the winners receive their prize.
After deciding to leave the car we started to walk, hoping to find where the balloons were being inflated but my little spawn was not going to make the walk. Or, in her words, "my legs won't make it!"
I've already planned out next year's trip to Dublin especially our route so we can hit the inflation clelebration.
Heartland Bank was offering parade attendees coffee, cocoa, and snacks which we took advantage of before finding a spot along the road to watch the parade. They also had folks making balloon animals and bags for the kids to collect candy. Bank employees were handing out gold dollar coins to the kids, which my little one was estatic about and asked for another.
Skipping the balloons did mean getting a good seat for the parade. In all my planning for this trip, the one thing I forgot was what we would sit on while watching the parade. Thankfully, the temperature had risen to the point that no coats were needed and we used them for blankets. I also promised to buy camp chairs in time for the next parade we attend.
The Dublin Visitors and Convention Bureau estimates that there were about 20,000 people in attendance for this mile long parade. Dublin's parade had balloons, floats, marching bands, Irish dancers, clowns, politicians, and even St. Patrick himself!
This is the first St. Patrick's Day parade that I was not worried for the kids' safety. We were not pushed around by drunks or rude attendees and we truly had a wonderful time with the people we were hanging out. I'm skipping CLE's parade this year, I'll go to work and the kids will go to school and I won't feel bad that we weren't celebrating the day, becasue we did already.
Finally and for the first time in Dublin's parade - Kermit the Frog!
This was by far the highlight for the kids' visit. Well, second only to the Fairy Door Hunt. A scavenger hunt to find fairy doors at various businesses in Dublin's Historic District. I have so much to share on the fairy door hunt! So much, that it deserves its own post.
We ended the day at Blarney Bash. Irish dancing, bands ranging from traditional Irish and Celtic rock to country rock and 80's dance and a an assortment of food trucks. The most poular truck was the truck with only one hard working employee trying to take orders and dish out pizza. He was a rockstar with a pizza cutter.
This is our second visit to Dublin and it is such a wonderful city to explore. I hope you stay tuned to read more about this amazing city with Irish attitude.
