St. Patrick's Day Downtown

Favorite Authentic Irish Performer

Green Fountain!

Light Up Necklaces!

On Friday, we both had the day off work!
We decided to go downtown bright and early (as is our tradition) to watch the greening of the canal.  This is a really special time for us.  The mayor says a few words, they award the Irish Person of the Year their award, and music is always flowing from some of our favorite bagpipers!  It is hosted by the Indiana Lottery and always features free coffee and donuts, plus entries into drawings and festive hats!  This year they handed out light up shamrocks and we brought our own hats!  Then they empty the dye into the canal and you wait to see it turn the fountain green!  It is really early, but it is something nice to do before you start your St. Patrick's Day!

Beer Tent!

Elbow Room!

Showing our Green!

Since we had the whole day off, we decided to stay downtown and see all that it had to offer on this festive holiday!
After a quick nap (it was dark outside still!) we headed over to the Elbow Room, a local pub, to check out their specials for the day!  They are right on the parade route, so it gave us a good vantage point and some beautiful green beer!  We watched the revelers arriving in their decked out costumes and began to see the setup of the parade.  Since the parade wasn't due to start for a while, we decided to head across the street and check out some of the tents.  There were food trucks, booths, a beer tent, and vendors galore to enjoy in the interim.

Parade!

We watched the parade from the steps of the Indiana War Memorial.  

It was a sunny day and we were loving watching all the people and their great outfits!  

It is definitely a family affair and many people even brought their dogs!  

Next we decided to head back and pick up our race packets for the next day!  

Green Canal!

The Shamrock Walk is always on a Saturday, so we headed over to the 

Indianapolis Historic Society to get our numbers!  

And of course, take some festive pictures along the way!

Lastly, we hopped over to The Claddaugh restaurant on our way out of town.  

This is a great Irish pub and we were excited to spend time in a place that felt like Ireland.  

We had lunch and another green beer before heading to Ashley's for the night!  

We always stay the night together before the walk since we have to leave so early!  

And it is such a treat to wake up and enjoy the whole day together! 

Best Twin Day Ever!