Why Is Sioux Falls a Great Place to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?
Don't you just love it when people tell you something you already know? Grrr!
In this case, however, it needs to be said. Sioux Falls really is a great place to celebrate St. Patrick's Day!
Those number-crunching scientific eggheads at WalletHub are once again pitting 200 of America's largest cities against each other, in an effort to turn us all green with St. Patrick's Day fever!
This time, Sioux Falls landed in the 98th position. But that doesn't really paint a true picture of how important St. Patrick's Day is here.
Our city has a strong Irish community that embraces the holiday with enthusiasm, making it a lively and festive experience for everyone. There are a variety of events and activities that take place, including, the St. Patrick's Day Celebration of Traditional Irish Music at the Old Courthouse Museum on Friday, March 17 from 5 to 7:30 PM.
This year, the parade is on Saturday, March 18, at 2 PM. The painting of the giant shamrock in downtown Sioux Falls? 11 AM on Saturday. The parade Grand Marshall (Dick Sweetman)? Chosen. Dyeing your hair green & painting shamrocks & leprechauns on your face? You decide.
Drinking a green beer (that I dye myself) in my mug from Cheers Bar in Boston. Yes, I will. Just one. But only because I make up for it by splurging on Irish Coffees!
They ranked cities based on things like parades (Check), the number of parties, and celebrations per capita (You're kidding right? Check!), as well as Irish pubs, and restaurants (Check and check!).
They also looked at the number of citizens with Irish heritage. According to Zip Atlas, about 10% of the population in South Dakota is of Irish heritage. Not including everyone who claims Irish heritage on St. Patrick's Day! (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge!)
About 61 percent of Americans plan to celebrate St. Patrick's Day this year according to the National Retail Federation. That breaks down to each of us being responsible for spending about $44 bucks on St. Patrick's Day. This means that total spending for 2023 will be right around $6.85 billion!
That's a lot of green to celebrate "the wearin' of the green" if you know what I mean!
Whether you're Irish or not, there's something for everyone to enjoy and celebrate during this special holiday in Sioux Falls.
Sources: National Retail Federation, Zip Atlas, WalletHub