St. Patrick's / City of Savannah

Heather Henley of Do Savannah and Siobhan Egan of Paprika Southern offer up some ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah - or not.

Siobhan’s picks:

-One great way to enjoy the parade - and avoid the port-o-potty mob scene - is to strategize with downtown friends and set up a home base along the parade route where you can watch the festivities and take part from the comfort of your (or someone else’s) home. Get planning!

-St. Pat’s isn’t all about green beer and general revelry. You can also celebrate in more traditional fashion with Saturday’s Tara Feis in Emmet Park. The family-friendly, alcohol-free event features Irish dancing and music, along with crafts and games for the kids. Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; free.

-Kids can also prepare for the holiday by making leprechaun traps to help them catch one of the magical creatures, and hopefully a pot of gold. Scribble Arts Studio will provide the supplies and instructions for all your kids’ leprechaun-catching needs at their Saturday workshop at Blick Art Materials on Broughton St. Saturday, 1-2:30 p.m.; $25 per artist.

Heather’s picks:

-Another way to get the most out of Savannah’s famed parade is by turning to some old pros. Meet up with one of the families that’s held on to the same parade-front spot for decades, often staking their claim before dawn, to experience the truly Savannah way of celebrating the big day. (For a taste of what this approach is like, check out our story from last year.)

-If you’d like to steer clear of the shamrocks entirely, try the Harlem Globetrotters, coming to the Savannah Civic Center Thursday. The famed basketball team features impressive ball handling, trick shots and on-court comedy in their family-friendly show. They’ll face the Washington Generals, the last team to beat the Globetrotters. Thursday, 7 p.m.; $21-84.

-You can also take in a show at Savannah’s own Asbury Memorial Theatre Company: Barnum, a musical about the early days of the circus complete with a 13-foot mechanical elephant. The characters include jugglers, trapeze artists and clowns. A free reception will follow Friday’s opening night performance. Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, 3 p.m.; $15 adults, $10 children. Same times next week.

-Run, walk, crawl or stumble your way through a 5K on Hutchinson Island, then reward yourself with a regional craft beer festival at the convention center. Sample brews from Southbound, Service, Moon River and many other local breweries. Sunday, race start 12 p.m., festival 12:30-4 p.m.; $55-65 run and brew fest, $45-55 brew fest only, $15-25 designated drivers.

Tags: St. Patrick's Day, coastal georgia weekend, parade, Tara Feis, paprika southern, do savannah, scribble art studio, harlem globetrotters, craft beer