Shamrock Shuffle 2023, parades, green beer: Here's how to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Milwaukee
St. Patrick's Day is coming up, and for the first three weekends in March, the city will be celebrating.
Milwaukee has its share of citizens who have Irish in their blood, and others who like an excuse to drink green beer, eat corned beef and watch Irish dancers.
From parades to bar crawls, here are a few ways to celebrate the holiday this year.
ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARADES in MILWAUKEE AND BEYOND
Milwaukee St. Patrick's Day Parade
On March 11, the Shamrock Club of Wisconsin will celebrate Irish music, dance and culture in a nearly mile-long parade through the heart of downtown.
The 55th annual St. Patrick's Day Parade route starts at West Wisconsin Avenue and North King Drive, travels east down Wisconsin, northwest at North Plankinton Avenue, west at West Kilbourn Avenue, north at King Drive, east on West Juneau Avenue, and south on North Water Street, where it ends.
RELATED:Milwaukee's first St. Patrick's Day parade was partly an anti-drinking event. Partly.
Parking is available on most surrounding downtown streets. Parking will be available for $3 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Avenue, which has entrances at 615 N. Plankinton Ave. and 258 W. Michigan St. "No Parking" signs will be posted along the parade route. Cars parked in temporary no parking zones will be towed beginning at 7 a.m. Saturday.
The parade begins at noon.
Other related festivities include a kick-off party at Lucky Clover Irish Pub, 1048 N. King Drive, from 5:30 to 11 p.m. March 10.
The Shamrock Club post-parade party is at the Irish Cultural & Heritage Center, 2133 W. Wisconsin Ave. Admission is $8 (for ages 12 and older), and $20 for a family (three or more people over 12).
Blue Mound Road St. Patrick's Day Parade
Following the downtown parade, Irish performers, floats and more head to Blue Mound Road for a parade starting at 3:30 p.m.
The parade route heads east down West Blue Mound Road from 68th to 52nd streets.
Parking is available for free on most surrounding streets. There are no parking structures in the area, though local businesses and churches may open their lots to the public.
Erin St. Patrick's Day Parade
On St. Patrick's Day, the town of Erin hosts one of the biggest Irish parades in the state.
The parade and celebration starts at 11 a.m. The route travels north up Highway K from Shamrock Lane to Highway 167.
Parking in the small town is available on side roads.
Erin Inn Irish Pub, 6102 Donegal Road, Hartford, is a sponsor of the parade. They have various celebrations throughout St. Patrick's Day weekend.
Chicago St. Patrick's Day Parade
Take a short trip out of town to take part in one of the largest St. Patrick's Day celebrations in the country.
The 68th annual Chicago St. Patrick's Day parade starts at 12:30 p.m. on March 11.
Milwaukeeans can take Amtrak's Hiawatha train or various bus services to Chicago.
The Chicago parade also coincides with the city's tradition of dyeing the Chicago River green. According to the group dyeing the river, the best views of the green river are at the Chicago Riverwalk along East Wacker Drive between the DuSable bridge (North Michigan Avenue) and the William P. Fahey Bridge (North Columbus Drive). The lower riverwalk is closed on parade day.
SHAMROCK SHUFFLE
For 14 years, the Shamrock Shuffle has been bringing tens of thousands of partiers to Milwaukee bars ahead of St. Patrick's Day.
The bar crawl started on North Avenue in 2010 and has moved and expanded to several other bar districts across the city.
This year's Shamrock Shuffle, starting at noon March 4, includes Water Street and Brady Street, which are sold out, and North King Drive and Walker's Point, which still have tickets available. Tickets are on sale through Feb. 27.
A $20 ticket, plus fees, gets shufflers drink deals, a T-shirt and a lanyard for free cover. Many bars participating in the Shuffle will charge a cover to those who do not have a lanyard.
IRISH BARS, RESTAURANTS IN MILWAUKEE
Most Milwaukee bars gear up for St. Patrick's Day as a big celebration, but a few Irish bars in the city might be the most fitting place to celebrate.
Just about every Irish bar around St. Patrick's Day has Irish beer, whiskey and performances, but some places are better to watch live music and others are better to enjoy Irish food. Here are good bars to do the following:
Drink green beer at bars in Milwaukee
Kelly's Bleachers, 5218 W. Blue Mound Road, is gearing up by purchasing about a dozen kegs of green beer for parade day and St. Patrick's Day celebrations.
The bar is a prime spot to watch the Blue Mound Road parade, which ends outside.
On St. Patrick's Day, the bar will open at 6 a.m. The first 100 customers will get a shirt touting that they opened Kelly's Bleachers on St. Patrick's Day 2023.
An Irish breakfast starts at 7 a.m. Other Irish food available throughout the day includes Irish stew, Reuben sandwiches, and corned beef and cabbage. The bar has Guinness on tap, and Irish whiskeys available behind the bar.
Irish dancers and DJs will provide entertainment both on parade day and St. Patrick's Day.
More:Green beer in Milwaukee: How food coloring helps sell a whole lot of light beer
McGillycuddy's, 1135 N. Water St., is at the end of the downtown parade route and will have green beer to welcome customers.
It will open at 9 a.m. March 17 and will have $2,500 in cash and prize giveaways. The Irish menu includes corned beef and cabbage, Irish nachos, Reubens, Irish tacos, corned beef hash and more.
McGillycuddy's will have DJs on parade weekend and St. Patrick's Day weekend.
Drink Irish beer in Milwaukee
Contrary to the above bars, "there's no green beer in Ireland, and there's no green beer here," said Blake Johnson, assistant general manager at County Clare Irish Inn & Pub.
Instead County Clare, 1234 N. Astor St., will have Guinness, Smithwick's, Harp and Kilkenny on tap.
In addition, County Clare's St. Patrick's Day party will start at 8 a.m. with an Irish breakfast. At 9 a.m. they will open a large tent in their parking lot where there will be Irish dancers and live music. A $5 cover for the tent will go to a local charity.
Drink Irish whiskey in Milwaukee
McKiernan's Irish Pub, 2066 S. 37th St., in Milwaukee's Burnham Park neighborhood, is a small Irish pub that was sure to get a large whiskey selection for St. Patrick's Day.
"We have the classics, like Jameson and Tullamore Dew, but we bring in the extra bottles," said McKiernan's co-owner Victoria McKiernan.
Some of the special bottles they'll have include Redbreast 12-year, Green Spot, Yellow Spot 12-year, Bushmills, Sexton, The Knot, Shanky's Whip, Powers and Paddy's.
In addition, McKiernan's will serve Reubens, hot corned beef sandwiches, a boiled corned beef dinner, and more. On tap, the bar has Guinness, Smithwick's and Harp.
Eat Irish food at restaurants in Milwaukee
McBob's, 4919 W. North Ave., will have a free breakfast buffet from 8 to 10 a.m., with the first band starting at 9 a.m. on St. Patrick's Day.
Their regular menu, including their popular Reubens, will be available from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
For dinner, they have a special boiled dinner available, including corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, Irish soda bread and more.
McBob's will have live music throughout St. Patrick's Day, as well as an Irish band on March 11.
More:Mulligans Irish Pub and Grill goes through 2,000 pounds of corned beef on St. Patrick's Day
More:3 Milwaukee restaurants with good corned beef, whether it's St. Patrick's Day or not
Watch live Irish performances at bars in Milwaukee
Mo's Irish Pub has two large locations, one downtown at 142 W. Wisconsin Ave., and one in Wauwatosa at 10842 W. Blue Mound Road.
Trinity Irish dancers, from Chicago, Milwaukee and Madison, will travel between the two bars for multiple performances at each location. Mo's will have various other live performers and musicians both on parade day and St. Patrick's Day.
Both bars will have Irish and green beer on tap, along with Irish food.
They open at 7 a.m. for kegs and eggs, and those who arrive for breakfast get a free T-shirt.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Shamrock Shuffle 2023, parade top St Patrick's Day events in Milwaukee
