St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations

directed sing-along at 10am at Church of the Sacred Heart, 111 Fourth St. NW. Expect popular songs like “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” and “Danny Boy,” not bar tunes, Clayton says. Mass, led by Bishop John Michael Quinn (yes, he’s Irish), and crowning of Mr. and Mrs. Emerald Isle follow at 10:30. Says Sacred Heart’s Father Gregory Leif of German, not Irish, ancestry, “The Irish-American heritage gives them pride in both God and country and helps them to celebrate family traditions and genealogy.” Come noon, those Irish families (known as “clans”) parade from the church to The Mill event center, 310 Second Ave. SW ., for Mulligan Stew. A rally—a time of Irish singing, storytelling and more—follows at 2pm. Clayton advises wearing green or risk getting pinched. Irish lore has it that leprechauns pinch those not dressed in green. Shops vending Irish items, baked goods and other merchandise will be open at The Mill. Kids can enjoy face painting and coloring. And BINGO starts at 4pm. The evening is devoted to the crowning of Miss St. Patrick and Miss Irish Rose, starting with a 7pm talent competition. An Irish jig contest and a dance close out the festivities in Waseca. T he next morning at 11am on March 14, the celebration continues with a St. Patrick’s Day Mass at the Church of St. Mary, 165 N. Waterville Ave. Three hours later, Irish clans gather in the church parking lot for the 2pm parade to the Legion and more merriment. The band IV Play performs at 9pm.

For more information, visit https://irishclubmn.weebly. com/

blocks to the VFW, according to Karen Mathias, co-owner of The Olde Triangle Pub and “a little bit of Irish.” But her eatery is through-and-through Irish from name to décor to the daily main course offerings of Irish Stew, Fish & Chips, Bangers & Mash and Shepherd’s Pie. In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, the pub adds a specialty, Corned Beef & Cabbage, available the evening of March 14 and all day on March 17. Want green beer? That, too, will be served upon request. Enhancing the dining, or drinking, experience on March 14 is live music throughout the afternoon and evening at this Irish pub, 219 Main St. W., in downtown Wabasha.

For more information, visit http://www.theoldetrianglepub.com/

St. Patrick’s Day Parad e, St. Peter

Initiated in the 1970s, St. Peter’s St. Patrick’s Day parade features Irish clans and musical groups that follow a several-block route starting at the corner of Broadway and South Third Street. The parade begins at 5:30pm on Tuesday, March 17, and is sponsored by the St. Peter Ambassadors.

Bars and restaurants in St. Peter offer food and drink specials beginning at 3pm.

For more information, visit http://www.stpeterambassadors.com/

St. Patrick’s Cel ebration , Parad e & Rall y, Le Cen ter

Le Center’s St. Patrick’s Day observance begins at 7pm Friday, March 13, with the queen coronation program and crowning of Irish royalty at the American Legion, 97 S. Park Ave.

St. Patrick’s Day Parad e, New Ul m

Although a decidedly German city, New Ulm is home to the Irish Cultural Society of New Ulm, organizer of Minnesota’s oldest consecutive running Irish parade. This year’s 54th annual St. Patrick’s Day parade begins at 5pm Tuesday, March 17, in the historic downtown. It features clans, bagpipers and more. After the parade, join the Gathering of the Clans Banquet for Irish fare and music at Don’s Pub, aka Veigel’s Kaiserhoff, 221 N. Main St. And, yes, that would be a German restaurant known for its German food and BBQ ribs. But Irish for a day.

For more information, visit https://www.newulm.com/ visitors-community/things-to-do/festivals/st-patricks-dayparade/

The Church of St. Patrick C el ebra t ion , Shield svill e

At Minnesota’s second oldest Irish Catholic parish, The Church of St. Patrick founded in 1856 in Shieldsville, St. Patrick’s Day holds special importance. “It’s a tradition to honor our patron saint,” says church trustee Elgin Trcka, also a life-long parishioner and coordinator of this year’s event. The celebration is set for Sunday, March 15, beginning with a 10am Mass followed by Mulligan Stew served at 11am until gone. Cost is a free-will offering. Czech, not Irish, musicians provide an afternoon of entertainment. From noon until 2pm, the Czech Area Concertina Club from Montgomery performs. And from 2-2:30pm club member Jake Minar Bastyr plays a concertina he crafted. Ken Pomije follows on his button accordion until 3pm.

Drawings for cash prizes end the celebration. All Irish and wannabe Irish must be present to claim their cash/pots of gold during the event at 7525 Dodd Road, Shieldville (northwest of Faribault).

For more information, visit http://www.spshieldsville.org/

Luck of the Irish Festival with Fish Fry, St. Ma ry’s Parish of Win ona

Food and fun center the Luck of the Irish Festival from 5-9pm Friday, March 20, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 1303 Broadway, Winona. The menu features broiled/batter-fried fish, baked potatoes/ french fries, coleslaw, desserts and assorted beverages, alcoholic and non-alcoholic.

Activities include a silent auction, casino style gambling (for fun), and $6,000 in Pot of Gold cash prizes. Raffle tickets are $10 with a limited number of tickets sold.

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The Hubbell House first opened as a stagecoach stop in 1854. Paul Pappas laid his eyes on the old limestone structure in 1946 and knew he had found the location of his dream restaurant. Although times have changed, Early-American hospitality is still available in Mantorville. Superb Cuisine since 1854

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S t. Patrick’s Day comes early to the Paradise Center for the Arts, 321 Central Ave. N., Faribault, with an evening of Irish-themed entertainment beginning at 7:30 on Friday, March 13. Folk singer, Irish flute and whistle player Norah Rendell, who specializes in the dance and song traditions of Ireland and her native Canada, kicks off the entertainment. The Northerly Gales, a Celtic/Americana group from St. Paul, headlines the show which also includes costumed Irish step dancers.

For more information or to purchase tickets, call 507-332-7372 or visit https://paradisecenterforthearts.org/

St. Patric k’s Day Cra fts, P aradi se Cen ter for the Arts, Fari bault

K ids ages kindergarten-fifth grade can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by crafting shamrocks, leprechauns and more from 3:30-5:30pm Tuesday, March 17, at the Paradise Center for the Arts, Faribault. Kate Langlais leads the class, which costs $16 for members and $20 for non-members with a $5 supply fee.

For more information or to register for this class, call 507-332-7372 or visit https:// paradisecenterforthearts.org/

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Trini ty Iri sh Danc e Compan y Performanc e, Sh eldon Th eatre, Red Wing

T he international, critically-acclaimed Trinity Irish Dance Company takes the stage at the Sheldon Theatre, 443 W. Third St., Red Wing, for a 7:30pm show on Friday, March 20. These dancers fuse Ireland’s traditional dance form with elements of American movement innovation to create a dazzling and fast-paced performance.

So many books, so little time. That’s what they say, and in 2019, it was the truth. Here are the can’tmiss, shouldn’t-skip books of the past twelve months: By Terri Schli chen meyer editor@southernminnscene.com

Fiction

If the subject of death can be taken lightly, there’s no better way than in “How Not to Die Alone” by Richard Roper. It’s the story of a man who works in London as a finder: when someone dies, the people in his office are tasked with locating the survivors of the deceased. That’s not the funny part; the humor comes in a blurted statement that literally takes on a life of its own, and the lengths the man goes to perpetuate it. Clever, witty, perfect. Lovers of Mark Twain’s adventure books will relish “This Tender Land” by William Kent Krueger, the story of two boys who run away from an Indian Training School in 1932, and they head down the Mississippi to escape the adults who want them back. Lush, exciting, and irresistible, this novel will fill a good evening or two. What can you say about a book that starts off with an attempted suicide? That’s “Talk to Me” by John Kenney, and that’s what happens after a TV newscaster insults a temporary worker and because of it, his life falls completely apart. Media folks will particularly enjoy this story, but if you’re a news junkie or a hardline TV watcher, you’ll love it, too. If you’ve already seen the movie about Harriet T ub man, then you know the kind of treat you’re in for when you read “The Tubman Command” by Elizabeth Cobbs. Taking one small event from Tubman’s life, this novel blows it up big and makes it exciting, while reminding readers that Tubman was a woman, first and foremost. For readers who need a novel that means something, this is it. (Tip: get it in an audiobook, for the full effect).

And, last but not least in the fiction category, “American Pop” by Snowden Wright is a sweeping, multigenerational novel about a family who’s patriarch creates a drink sensation. When he passes the business down to his scheming children, interesting – and heart-wrenching – things begin to happen...

NonFiction For political animals and those who are tired of politics as usual, “Palm Beach, Mar-ALago, and the Rise of America’s Xanadu” by Les Standiford is a book to read. It’s a biography of a place and the people who made it, and it’s also a history of us, our need to explore, our adventurous spirit, and our forever fascination with celebrities. Expect something a little different in “Toil & Trouble” by Augusten Burroughs, who reveals in this book that he’s a witch. Not the bubbling cauldron type, but one who knows things but can’t explain why, but who still has to work to find love, home, and happiness just like the rest of us. This book is sweet and quirky and perfect. You don’t have to have visited Las Vegas, nor do you have to remember the Rat Pack to enjoy “Elvis in Vegas” by Richard Zoglin. Sure, it helps, but loving glitz, glamour, entertainers, and scandal is really all you need to want this book. It’s not cheating to put together “Bitten” by Kris Newby and “Mosquito” by Timothy C. Winegard in one Best Of list, because they really belong side-by-side on your shelf. Newby’s book is about all the things that can bite you and maybe kill you. Winegard’s book is about one thing that bites and kills more humans than any other creature. How can you resist books like those? And then there’s “The League of Wives” by Heath Hardage Lee, a book about the wives of the men who served in Vietnam and were captured, and what these brave women did for themselves, their husbands, and others to bring their men home. If you remember the war – or if you didn’t – you owe it to yourself to read this hidden history.

Ch ildre n’s Books It’s going to be hard to decide if the story in “Sulwe” by Lupita Nyong’o is the better part of the book, or if the illustrations by Vashti Harrison are the better reason to have it. Either way, this beautiful book is about a little girl who learns to come to terms with the tone of her skin in a way that’s magical. Story or illustrations? Both. Kids ages 7-12 will love the slightly-creepy story of friendship in “The Afterwards” by A.F. Harrold, illustrated by Emily Gravett. It’s the story of a girl who finds a garden in which things that are dead, aren’t quite dead. When she discovers her best friend in the garden, she must make a hard, hard decision. Bonus: borrow it back for a wonderful reminder of childhood friendships.

And rounding out the Best of Children’s Books for 2019 is “Fraternity” by Alexandra Robbins, who takes a look at college fraternities and some young men who joined them. It’s an eye-opener for teens who are heading to college soon, and it’ll give parents something to think about and discuss.

And now for the housekeep ing…

S ome of these books are from earlier in the year, so they might be out in paperback soon. Check with your local librarian or bookseller. They’re the Rock Stars of the book world, and they won’t steer you wrong. Season’s Readings! SMS