Itinerary
1. Morning: The Irish Village
2. Afternoon : Red Face Jack’s & Son’s of Erin
3. Late Afternoon : Tavern 731
4. Evening: Royal Palace
5. A Night Cap: Jake Rooney’s
This weekend my fiancé and I decided to head south of the Sagamore to participate in the Cape’s St.Patrick’s Day festivities. Having grown up attending the infamous St.Patty’s parade in Southie, we were interested to see if the Cape could live up to the entertainment level Southie had provided. The nice part of the Cape’s parade is that it is held on a Saturday, allowing for a full day’s events without the headache of having to go to work hungover the next day.
Perfect spot to watch the parade
We strategically decided to watch the parade from The Irish Village, the middle of the route, to allow for a short walk to start our adventure post parade. The Village hosted a traditional Irish breakfast that we couldn’t pass up as well as the Baileys in our coffee. The crowds were full of friends and families decked out in green, enjoying the sunshine, music and of course the alcoholic beverages in their red solo cups. As we watched the parade from the steps of the Irish Village, the parade passed with Irish Step Dancers and their crazy wigs, local businesses on floats, the parade Marshall, Charlie Moore and even a dog in a green tutu. The bag pipers will always be my favorite part of the parade, and no, not because of the men in skirts.
Parade Marshall – Charlie Moore
Making friends along the parade
Once the parade ended, we beelined it to Red Face Jack’s, one of the best sports bars on Cape. They conveniently hosted a parking lot party filled with live music and vendors and although it was only in the high 30s, the crowd enjoyed drinking outside and catching some rays which we have been lacking lately.
We hopped from bar to bar, making sure to test the Guinness at each establishment and checking out the tradtiional Irish music. We ran into fellow parade goers that had the same idea in mind. The Son’s of Erin was our second stop on our adventure. Luckily, my aunt who is a member gave me her key card to get in. This members-only bar is known for its great music, camaraderie among members and cheap beers. We stayed for “Wild Rover,” “Fields of Athenry,” and “Whiskey in the Jar,” before continuing our trek to Tavern 731, home of the Sons of Erin’s previous location. Tavern 731 is a newer bar on the Cape, that is known for its biker summer crew that has claimed it as their territory.
As we stumbled our way back towards the Irish Village we couldn’t help but stop in for a pint, a sing-along and watch the Irish Step Dancers that were perform. The free taxi service during parade day was convenient as we wanted to head out of Yarmouth and closer to Harwich, where we were staying for the evening. The Royal Palace, our go-to Chinese restaurant on the Cape was a smart choice to soak up the booze filled day before we headed to our last bar.
Our last stop of the day was Jake Rooney’s for a night cap. The bar was packed as people continued the St.Patrick’s Day festivities into the night. The rowdy crowd sang along to 80s and 90s songs played by the live guitarist, a nice change from the Irish tunes we had been listening to since 10 A.M.
Night cap at Jake Rooney’s
Drink of choice
The Cape’s St.Patrick’s Day Parade was a nice change of pace to celebrate the holiday. Although it was much tamer than Southie’s parade, it was a fun filled day of traditional Irish music, Guinness, sunshine and cheer. I look forward to attending next year’s parade and having an excuse to drink baileys at ten in the morning.
Diana – I enjoy spending as much time outside as possible even if that means finding a bar with a roof deck. I am always up for a challenge, whether it’s hiking a mountain, bowling or singing karaoke in front of complete strangers, I will do it. As long as the day involves a glass of wine, family or friends and a good laugh at the end of it, it’s alright in my book.
Boston, Party of 6 