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ITS A LUCKY FEST IN MODESTO
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Lucky Fest a bacchanalian take on the traditional St. Patricks Day blowout has made Downtown Modesto the place to be for the annual celebration. On Saturday, March 21, thousands of people will descend on downtown to enjoy 25 Irish-themed bars set up specifically for that one night. - photo by Photo Contributed

It’s the one day of the year that everybody is Irish. 

It’s the one day that you can wear a silly green hat and a shamrock T-shirt and drink Irish whiskey concoctions and dark beer thick enough to float a key on it. 

It’s a Tuesday in Modesto. 

More specifically it’s St. Patrick’s Day. 

You don’t have to look very far to find a bar or a restaurant willing to celebrate the foremost Patron Saint of Ireland. 

So grab your green socks and your appetite for overcooked cabbage and salted beef and put on your drinking shoes – there are plenty of places to indulge that college-like desire to sing Irish folk songs with people you’ve never met while time just melts off of the clock. 

And we’re not even talking about Lucky Fest – the gigantic St. Patrick’s Day party on steroids that draws thousands to the streets of Downtown Modesto to regale in all that is green and Gaelic. 

• P. Wexford’s Annual St. Patrick’s Day Block Party – Modesto’s resident Irish Pub has all of the bases covered when it comes to enjoying the traditional holiday the way that it was meant to be enjoyed. Guinness? Check. Corned beef and cabbage? Check. We’re talking a bar that has Jameson Irish whiskey on tap – pull down a handle and it comes out of a spout like a cold draft. It doesn’t get any more Irish than that, and that’s what brings out the droves whenever it comes time to let the green out. Dancing, live music from multiple bands and Irish activities all top the list of things to do. A $10 charge will be in place after 3 p.m., so get there early. 3313 McHenry Avenue. 209.576.7939.

• Galleto Ristorante’s Irish/Italian St. Patrick’s Day Celebration – Consider this a multi-ethic mixing. A beautiful downtown restaurant renowned for it’s Northern Italian cuisine is going Irish on Tuesday with a myriad of drink specials, live music performances and food offerings including corned beef and cabbage. Easily one of Downtown Modesto’s most chic restaurants, Galleto is requiring reservations for the event and a fixed meal price is $15. To book your night call 209.523.4500. Spaces are filling up fast. 1101 J Street. 

• Lucky Fest – This can’t be described. The genius planners behind X Fest – the massive downtown party that draws tens of thousands during the summer – came up with a plan to build 25 Irish-themed pubs throughout Modesto’s downtown streets for one night only. On Saturday, March 21 St. Patrick himself would marvel at the bacchanalian feast that unfolds when the masses converge. It’s a 21-and-over event – obviously – and it is heavily policed to preserve the safety of all of those looking to let loose and have a good time. So if the Tuesday night bar scene doesn’t scratch your St. Patrick’s Day itch, this is definitely something for you. Tickets are $12 in advance and information about where to purchase them can be found at www.modestoluckyfest.com.