St. Patrick’s Day | San Francisco in 15 weeks

St. Patrick’s Day weekend was a weekend full of colorful festivities with a side of alcoholic beverages for many San Franciscans.

I was in North Beach on Saturday, the first big day to celebrate the St. Patrick’s Day holiday and also the day of the famous St. Patrick’s Day parade. Many are surprised to know that North Beach, although known as “Little Italy,” has many Irish pubs and restaurants that bar hoppers took full advantage of this past weekend.

O’Reilly’s, a crowded Irish pub on Green Street, hosted many St. Patrick’s Day celebrators.
Photo by Jordan Hunter

As the day went on, North Beach seemed to be the neighborhood for those who were at the parade to continue their celebrations. Around 5 p.m., the streets were lined with young partiers and Muni buses were packed. The aroma of beer and food filled the air and the crowds were loud and rowdy.

Washington Square Park was a main hotspot for people to gather.
Photo by Jordan Hunter

The sun was shining on the city and Washington Square Park was buzzing with people dressed in green for the holiday. There were groups of people throwing around a frisbee, others were taking a break and grabbing a nap to get their second wind for the night.

It was an uncommonly warm day in North Beach for people to celebrate St. Patricks Day in the park.
Photo by Jordan Hunter

Street performers sometimes line the streets of North Beach. There are so many various performers from cello performances to tap-dancing men in fedoras and army pants.

Even street performers got into the St. Patrick’s Day spirit, like this tap-dancing street performer on Columbus Street.
Photo by Jordan Hunter

As the sun went down, North Beach crowds got larger and police cars began to slowly come into the neighborhood to keep the peace. Day one of St. Patrick’s Day weekend slowly comes to an end. But, have no fear, because day two includes the Pub Crawl.