This Might Pinch

Somewhat miraculously, it remains okay, even encouraged, to mass on a bar’s patio and scream at everything on St. Patrick’s Day. For Maxim boys, it’s no different than rush week, March Madness, and their girlfriends’ spa weekend: It’s a beer holiday, to be sucked down, thrown up, and pissed away. Which is a shame, for the city provides many very real ways to raise a proper toast to the patron saint of Ireland. For those looking to get a jump on things, there’s the Irish flag raising at City Hall at 10:30 a.m. on March 12. For the devout, there’s St. Patrick’s Day Mass at St Patrick’s Church, today at 9 a.m. And for all comers, including those vacationing in hops, there’s the San Francisco’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival. The parade runs up Market Street to Civic Center, led by Grand Marshal John Burton, California Democratic Party chairman, and the festival is stocked with beer gardens, food and cultural booths, and pony rides (Ireland!). Entertainment includes music by the Gas Men (traditional jigs and such) and the Mad Maggies (“Celtic ska with a touch of hot pepper and a swig of slivovitz,” according to the site) and footwork by Bernadette Flynn and Dancers, of Lord of the Dance fame.
Sat., March 13, 11:30 a.m., 2010