Settling into the weekend with the luck of the Irish on our side, this weekend is a Guinness-fueled dream with Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations and parties kicking off Friday and lasting well into the weekend. Live Irish music at Gritty McDuff’s and Shipyard Brewing, Kegs ‘n Eggs at Batson River, and Paddy’s Day Plunge at East End Beach – it’s all in our weekend round-up!
For the full St. Patrick’s Day in Portland, Maine rundown, head to our official guide – features specials, events and more!
Here’s the Weekend Guide for Friday, March 17th – Sunday, March 19th, 2023
Friday the 17th – St. Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations | Batson River Brewing & Distilling | 4:00 PM
Paddy’s Weekend at Batson River Brewing & Distilling will feature TWO special beer releases along with a menu of Irish-inspired eats. Beer & whiskey pairings on Friday will include three of their house-brewed beers up against three Irish Whiskeys for the ultimate tasting and pairing experience – available in the back bar. Live music with Finley‘s Four Provinces Quartet starts at 6pm and runs until 8pm. A wild evening of live music awaits along with plenty of Irish beer and whiskey.
Paddy’s Day Plunge | East End Beach | 5:30 AM
RiRa Irish Pub is kicking off St. Patrick’s Day celebrations with their annual plunge at the East End Beach in Portland to raise funds for the Portland Firefighters Children’s Burn Foundation. Celebrate the holiday with a plunge into the ice cold waters of the East End Beach (or just cheer on those that do!) After the Plunge, join RiRa at the pub to kick off St. Patrick’s Day with an Irish Breakfast, a raffle, a pint of Guinness, and St. Patrick’s Day festivities + music. Sign up and or donate online.
Dueling Pianos – St. Patty’s Day Edition | Shipyard Brewing Company | 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Round out your St. Patrick’s Day with Shipyard Brewing Co. and Jim Ciampi Keys. An interactive, fun music show featuring Irish tunes plus other favorites. Put in requests, sing along, drink some delicious beer and grab some food! They will have some St. Paddy’s Day specials on the menu. Tickets here.
DRAUDUGA with Regals & Mother Earth Freedom Band | Sun Tiki Studios | 7:30 PM
New Hampshire natives and rock & roll band Regals, make their Sun Tiki Studios debut, sharing the stage with local favorites Draudiga and Mother Earth Freedom Band. Draudiga is fairy folk Americana with the airy whimsy of Kate Bush and the toothsome menace of Lydia Lunch. Mother Earth Freedom Band is an indie punk band from Maine. An amazing evening of rock & roll and twang. Tickets here.
Irish Flag Raising over Portland | Maine Irish Heritage Center | 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM
Taking place on the front steps of the Maine Irish Heritage Center, join in on the St. Patrick’s Day fun – the group will walk through Portland’s old Irish neighborhood to raise the Irish flag at Harbor View Park. Coffee, tea, and Irish soda bread will be served at the MIHC afterward.
Tip Me, I’m Irish w/ Drunken Karaoke | Free Street | 8:00 PM
Pots of gold and 4-leaf clovers! Join THEM Burlesque as they take over The Cavern at Free Street to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Don your best green attire for this wild night of burlesque and drag that celebrates all things green. It’s okay if you’re not Irish, they’ll pinch you anyway! Don’t forget those gold coins to tip your performers or the leprechauns might get ya. Hosted by Rosie Havoc and featuring: Kinky Slippers, Finn Gerring, Aubergine Dream, El Ixer, Poletoria, Fabergé, Liza May, Hawkeye Pierced, Luna Lee, Biagara Falls, and Miss Kali D’Scope. Tickets here.
Saturday the 18th
Sea Cow Bon Voyage | Casco Bay Artisans | 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
It’s been a wonderful winter with Muriel, but Casco Bay Artisans must now wish her ‘Bon Voyage!’ as she heads back to Dana-Faber Cancer Institute and her position in Cow Parade New England. Join Casco Bay Artisans and artist Russ Cox as they send her off in style with a Yacht Rock themed party. Boogie down and take a few selfies as they all wish Muriel fair winds and flowing seas. Cow Parade New England is a public art event for people of all ages and backgrounds, featuring life-size cow sculptures, which are painted and transformed by local artists, displayed in pastures throughout cities for residents and tourists to visit, and sold for the benefit of local nonprofit organizations.
JoyTown Spring Groove | Oxbow Brewing Company | 6:00 PM
Feeling sad? Feeling lonely? Winter blues got you down? Don’t fret! JoySwich Spring Kick-off Party is on the books at Oxbow Brewing Company in Portland. There’ll be a disc swap (bring your discs and trade), disc dyeing, putt bowling tournament, DJs and dancing, laughter, joy, and a mega, huge, decked out raffle prize pack.
Kegs n’ Eggs | Batson River Brewing & Distilling | 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
St. Patrick’s Day celebrations continue all weekend long at Batson River! Join them for a hangover brunch on Saturday, where they will have their own special elixir of Irish Coffee available along with all of their Irish Beers released for St. Paddy’s (while supplies last, that is), food and drink specials, and live music from Crow’s Nest Celtic from 12PM – 2PM
Thompson’s Pint | Thompson’s Point – Brick South | 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
The wild hair-of-the-dog St. Patrick’s Day weekend at Thompson’s Point begins on Saturday with Thompson’s Pint, a beer hall with local craft brews and fun St. Paddy’s offerings including live music from good friends The Middle Men Band and The O Harrows, green beers, food trucks, games and good times! Entry is free.
Louis Armstrong & Friends | Merrill Auditorium | 7:30 PM – 10:30 PM
The charismatic and hugely popular Byron Stripling returns to Portland Symphony Orchestra with an electrifying tribute to the great Louis Armstrong and his famous friends including Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington and so many others. Byron Stripling’s electrifying and heartfelt tribute to Louis Armstrong has become America’s most popular orchestral pops program. Dazzling audiences wherever he goes with What A Wonderful World, Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and more. Tickets here.
Sunday the 19th
Hawktail | One Longfellow Square | 7:00 PM
Hawktail is the instrumental acoustic quartet of fiddler Brittany Haas, bassist Paul Kowert, guitarist Jordan Tice, and mandolinist Dominick Leslie. Though at first glance it looks like an acoustic superpicker side-project, their all-original music is cohesive and unique, distinguishing them as an ensemble with a sound built from the ground up. Flush with orchestral sweeps and sparse vigils, with strains of the American South and the North Atlantic, this cosmopolitan sound is not what you’d expect from a string band. Tickets here.
Burpees & Brews | Banded Brewing Co – Portland | 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Burpees & Bordeaux is teaming up with Banded Brewing Co. to bring you “Burpees and Brews”. Join Louise, founder of the fitness blog for an hour workout class followed by beer tasting and fun. Registration includes class and 1 pint of beer or NA beverage of your choice. Please bring a water bottle and a yoga mat. Sign-up online.
Fortune Feimster – Live Laugh Love! | State Theatre | 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Affable, charismatic and one of a kind, Fortune Feimster is a standup comedian, writer and actor who uses her confessional comedy to bring people together. Through laughter and storytelling, Fortune shows audiences of all ages, backgrounds, and sexual orientations that common ground is only a joke or two away. Ascending to popularity as a writer and panelist on E’s hit show “Chelsea Lately”, she then starred as a series regular on “The Mindy Project” and on “Champions”, “Kenan” and so much more. Tickets online.
August Wilson’s How I Learned What I Learned | Portland Stage | 2:00 PM
From the late August Wilson, one of America’s greatest playwrights, comes this autobiographical tour de force. In his one-man show, Wilson takes us on a journey through a heartfelt theatrical memoir—charting one man’s journey of self-discovery through adversity, and what it means to be a black artist in America. Masks are required for this showtime. Tickets here.
For more events head to our Events Calendar here.
