New York and Chicago go all out when it comes to St. Patrick’s Day, but in Los Angeles, it’s a bit less of a thing. You actually have to seek out a bit of craic on the Irish-American holiday—it’s not like we dye the L.A. River green. Nevertheless, there are still lots of ways to celebrate if you’re so inclined—from family-friendly festivities to lots (and lots) of drinking. (Note: St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Tuesday this year, so several events are taking place early, over the weekend.) A Parade Hermosa Beach, in particular, is full of Irish spirit during its annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. For the 30th year, bagpipers, marching bands, Irish dancers and classic cars decked out in green will all make their way along the coastal city’s parade route. The procession kicks off at 11am near City Hall on Valley Drive, heads west on Pier Avenue and ends at the corner of Hermosa Avenue and 8th Street. The free festivities also include live music and Irish dancing nearby at Pier Plaza. If you want to start the shenanigans early, there’ll be a pre-parade party 6pm on March 13 at local Irish pub Patrick Molloy’s, with more music, food and drinks. Movie Screenings Another family-friendly option is a Paddy’s Day movie screening. Rooftop Cinema Club will lean into millennial nostalgia with the Disney Channel original movie The Luck of the Irish (which director Ryan Coogler recently credited with influencing Sinners), screened atop LEVEL DTLA on March 17 at 7:30pm. In the meantime, this weekend, the Vista Theater is screening morning matinees of Darby O’Gill and the Little People—a 1959 Disney classic and a personal favorite—at 10am on Saturday and Sunday. Bar Crawls The rest of the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations on this list are decidedly drinking-focused—with a side of Celtic music and corned beef. Nasstive Entertainment is hosting not one but two St. Patrick’s Day pub crawls in Los Angeles—one in Downtown and one in Hollywood (as well as one in Long Beach)—on March 14. Join hundreds of other revelers to hop from bar to bar and enjoy all-day drink specials, welcome shots, festive food, DJs and live music. For DTLA, you’ll check in at Karl Strauss Brewing, then grab a wristband and travel between participating spots including Pattern Bar, Broken Shaker, Beelman’s, Golden Gopher and more. In Hollywood, the crawl starts at Saint Felix on Cahuenga and includes stops at Jameson’s Irish Pub, Zero Lounge, Boardner’s, Cabo Cantina and more. Lucky’s St. Patrick’s Day Bar Crawl in Santa Monica offers a similar option for Westsiders. Meanwhile, nearby St. Paddy’s Day on the Promenade is a free street party with live music by Shamrock Sean and the Irish Cabbage Band, plus trivia, games, photo ops and festive decor on the 1300 block of pedestrian-friendly Third Street Promenade. The Queen Mary is also hosting a massive Luck of the Irish Celebration on the ocean liner’s deck, with green drinks, DJs spinning Irish music and a live performance by Celtic dancers. Celebrations on St. Patrick’s Day Photograph: Jakob N. LaymanTom Bergin's If you’re planning on playing hooky on St. Patrick’s Day itself this Tuesday, Tom Bergin’s gets the party going at 6am(!), serving up traditional Irish breakfast. The 90-year-old pub is the best place to grab an Irish coffee in L.A. Things get a little more rowdy at noon, when a parking-lot party with three outdoor bars, a band and DJ and a live bagpipe performance will kick off. You might want to consider taking the day off from work. (In Ireland, they get March 17 off as a holiday—just saying.) Also stretching out throughout the day is the St. Paddy’s Day Bash at Tam O’Shanter, which offers corned beef and cabbage specials in the dining room and live music and green beer all day long in the parking lot. And it may be a British pub, but during The Cat Fiddle’s St. Patrick’s Fare—an all-day parking-lot party that’s part of Re:Her’s Women’s History Month Festival—you can enjoy an authentic Irish menu of corned beef, as well as split pea soup and pours of Irish beers Guinness and Harp, followed by Guinness chocolate cake for dessert and a live burlesque show for entertainment. You can also fill up on traditional corned beef and cabbage at the Original Farmers Market’s very first eatery, Magee’s Kitchen, while a bagpiper strolls around playing Celtic tunes in the afternoon. And of course, you’re sure to find a lively scene at any of the best Irish pubs in the city on St. Patrick’s Day—from Casey’s Irish Pub in DTLA to the Auld Dubliner in Long Beach—but you can visit for a pint or check out our picks for the best whiskey bars year-round. ...read more read less