The Wearin O’ The Green in Leadville

St Patrick’s Day: Slainte at 10,152 Feet

This Sunday, March 17 is the feast day of Saint Patrick, which means that Leadville’s Irish folks will be decked out and bedazzled in green to celebrate with a parade, Irish whiskey, corned beef and cabbage, and a jig, or two! And if it seems like Leadville just celebrated St. Patrick’s Day, it’s because it did. Every year, Leadville holds a “practice parade” for St. Patrick’s Day in the fall, often even bigger and more spectacular than on March 17. In Leadville, there’s just too much Irish history to celebrate only once a year, so hopefully, all that practice will pay off on Sunday. Everyone is welcome to march!

The Leadville St. Patrick’s Day Parade begins at high noon on March 17 at West Ninth Street in front of the Mining Museum. The procession then heads south on historic Harrison Avenue toward the Silver Dollar Saloon, where the Leadville Lions Club will be serving that St. Patty’s Day favorite, corned beef and cabbage with all the fixings. Grab a dish for $10 as the Lions Club serves it up from Noon until 3:30 p.m. The proceeds from the dinner go towards various Leadville Lions Club projects, all to help the local community. After the parade and dinner, there is usually some Irish sing-a-longs and the general carrying-on into the evening. The Silver Dollar Saloon is Leadville’s one-of-a-kind, old west saloon and is the place to celebrate the day! Slainte!

Other goings-on includes Irish music and food out at Leadville’s ski hill.  Bring the family out to a fun celebration on St. Patrick’s Day at Ski Cooper‘s Katie O’Rourke’s Irish Pub. There will be food & drink specials to accompany the live music as follows: Saturday, March 16 from high noon – 1 p.m. enjoy some bagpipe music with local musician and music teacher Colin McFee, followed from 3 – 5 p.m. in the pub with some Irish music by George Finnell and Sam Galey. Then on Sunday, St. Patrick’s Day starting at noon enjoy some Irish flute music with Maggie, followed again by Irish music with Sam  & George. Come enjoy some great slope conditions and show up with your best jog!

If you’d rather take in some trails than the slopes then be sure to sign up for the Fatty Patty 50k which consists of two 25k laps with mellow climbing and thrilling descents up on Leadville’s eastside. You can sign up as an individual or a team. The event starts and finishes at Colorado Mountain College Leadville campus. This is part of the 2019 Leadville Winter Mountain Bike Series and sponsored by the Cloud City Wheelers, Leadville’s local bike club. It should be a very adventurous race course with snowpack at historic levels after Leadville’s Snowzilla 2019 which occurred March 1- 9. Keep ’em spinning throughout the winter!

Pop a wheelie at the Fatty Patty 50k this Saturday, March 16 in Leadville. Photo: Leadville Today/Brennan Ruegg.

If looking for that special kind of green, stop in Roots Rx for high-quality cannabis grown right here at 10,200 feet. They are Leadville local’s choice and it was standing room only in this dispensary yesterday located at the southern bend of Harrison Avenue off Highway 24. RootsRx offers convenient, easy access with plenty of parking and most importantly a friendly, professional staff. Look for the green neon cross at 125 Front St. (south of town)

One very important phone number you may want to put in your phone right now is Katy Kat’s Kash Kab 719-239-1382. This is the local version of #UberLeadville. And however rowdy your jig is this weekend, be sure to stay safe, drink responsibly, and respect your fellow lads and lasses. May the road rise to meet ya!

A St. Patrick’s Day 2017 Video