It’s the luck of the Irish
Cape Bretoners expected to participate in St. Patrick’s Day events today
It’s the one day of the year when everyone considers themselves Irish — St. Patrick’s Day.
And there’s no shortage of St. Patrick’s Day events scheduled for today at local pubs, bars and restaurants across the island, as Cape Bretoners are expected to celebrate the Irish holiday with drinks and live entertainment.
Some local establishments are planning to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day throughout the weekend, including the Steel City Sports Bar and the Old Triangle Alehouse in Sydney.
Barkley Haddad, owner of Steel City Sports Bar, said his establishment has been celebrating St. Patrick’s Day for more than 30 years.
“It doesn’t matter what day of the week it is around here, but when St. Patrick’s Day hits, we always have a great success with it,” he said. “It’s just a real fun party with lots of prizes to give out and it’s just a real nice atmosphere.”
Haddad said his business will open for St. Patrick’s Day at 10 a.m. and will be offering Irish stew, corn beef and cabbage as well as live entertainment later in the day.
“People like to get out and socialize, which is part of the St. Patrick’s Day events,” he said. “There is also a lot of Irish people around and they like to come out and support and dress up in their green — it’s just a really good time.”
Entertainment at Steel City Sports Bar begins at 5:30 p.m. with Mark MacIntyre, Jason Kempt and Jennifer Roland. Michael and Tracey Cavanaugh will entertain the crowd, starting at 10 p.m. The same performers will entertain on Saturday, at the same times.
The Old Triangle Alehouse, Cape Breton’s only authentic Irish pub, will also be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day throughout the weekend, opening today at 7 a.m.
Phil Dubinsky and his wife, Dianne MacPhee, owners of the Old Triangle Alehouse, said they are expecting large crowds.
“We opened early last year and we had a good crowd,” said Dubinsky. “It’s our fourth St. Patrick’s Day since we opened and we’ve been busy every year.”
The Old Triangle Alehouse will have live entertainment throughout the day today, starting at 8:30 a.m. with Mark MacIntyre, followed by Bobby Currie at 12:30 p.m., Andrew Doyle and Cory Keeping at 5 p.m., and wrapping up with The Privateers at 9:30 p.m. There will also be prizes given out in green envelopes.
On Saturday, Taylor Burton will entertain at 1 p.m., followed by Andrew Doyle and Cory Keeping at 5:30 p.m., and The Privateers at 9:30 p.m.
The alehouse’s breakfast menu will available until 11 a.m. today with $4 from every breakfast sold being donated to the Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation. “We want people to come and support the regional hospital in the morning and come for breakfast,” said Dubinsky. “We encourage people to come out and enjoy themselves all day long.” Other St. Patrick’s Day events are scheduled for various venues across the island, including in Baddeck, Dominion, Glace Bay, New Waterford, Membertou, and Whitney Pier, just to name a few.