The best St. Patrick’s Day events in NYC

Irish pride will be on view down Fifth Avenue once again (it was a long two-years without it) during the New York St. Patrick's Day Parade. From pipe and drum bands to dancers and performers in regalia, midtown Manhattan will transform into a big party with a sea of green revelers. Click through to find out everything you need to know about 2022's parade, including when and where it'll be taking place.

This year, from March 16-March 20, SUMMIT One Vanderbilt will have a mix of holiday-inspired drinks, treats and activities to celebrate St. Paddy's Day with. Those who participate can have the opportunity to win exciting prizes during the Shamrock Scavenger Hunt, which will feature 10-15 shamrocks carefully hidden throughout its immersive experience. The lucky winners can claim prizes such as gift cards to SUMMIT’s retail shop, tickets to experience SUMMIT at Sunrise or Ultimate Night Out Tickets, a free ride on Ascent, SUMMIT’s daring external elevator attraction, and more. On Thursday only, Unity, SUMMIT’s mesmerizing, animated skyscape will display a fun green interactive visual just for the holiday. While at SUMMIT over the holiday weekend, visitors can enjoy a variety of Irish-influenced snacks including Guinness brownies, shepherd’s pie quiche, green split lentil soup with Irish bacon or a “Green Sandwich” with arugula, avocado, & watermelon radish. Themed cookies will also be available.

Celebrate with spirits by taking an Irish Whisky class at The Flatiron Room on the night of St. Patrick's Day (Thursday, March 17, at 6:30pm). For $125, you’ll be greeted with a welcome cocktail on arrival and a light snack platter. A whiskey sommelier will then guide you through six different whiskies from Ireland, including Lost Irish, Danny Boy, Finian’s Five Provinces, A.D. Rattray Cooley 11yr, Bushmills Single Malt 21yr, and Knappogue Castle 12yr Bourbon Cask Matured. The class will be approximately one hour and 30 minutes.

The Bluegrass Situation presents a three-night celebration of Irish American musical traditions with headliners Jake Blount, award-winning banjoist, fiddler, singer, and scholar specializing in the music of Black and Indigenous communities in the southeastern United States; Nic Gareiss, acclaimed for his "dexterous melding of Irish and Appalachian dance" by the New York Times; Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves, whose self-titled collaborative debut won the Independent Music Award for Best Bluegrass Album; and special guests Tim Eriksen, Ebony Hillbillies, Hubby Jenkins, Megan Downes, and others. You can see the full schedule here. Tickets begin at $20.

Enjoy an evening of dance with "Celtic Odyssey," a family-friendly theatrical production that combines Irish dancers, musicians and singers with intoxicating storytelling and beautiful choreography. Members of Brooklyn Irish Dance Company have performed on Broadway, throughout North America and around the world, with companies including Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, Celtic Fyre, Women of Ireland, and Trinity Irish Dance Company. The show is set for March 27 at 3:30pm at the Sheen Center for Thought and Culture. Tickets start at $45.

The Irish Arts Center opens its doors on Sunday, March 13, at noon for an Irish extravaganza, filled with authentic music, dances, craft workshops and delicious tea. Learn to play the tin-whistle, get your face painted, experiment with tap-dancing, or simply sit back and watch Mia Theodoratus on harp, Pamela Jean Agaloos sing with guitarist Matthew Diaz, Cleek Schrey on fiddle, or IAC’s Community Céilí Band and the Niall O’Leary School of Irish Dance perform. The Downhill Strugglers (an American old-time string band trio) will also play. You can also watch the U.S. premiere of Tírdhreacha agus Fuaimdhreacha (followed by Q and A with Clare Sands), join in on a closing ritual welcoming spring and learn an Irish language song featured in Tírdhreacha agus Fuaimdhreacha. 

Join the Irish Arts Center in honoring James Joyce’s novel Ulysses with the Book Day tradition of recognizing the breadth of Irish and other cultures' literature. The 10th-anniversary event will also offer titles by Jewish authors from around the world in tribute to Ulysses’ iconic protagonist, Leopold Bloom. And as always, the Center and its sponsors, partners and supporters—Literature Ireland, the New York City Council, the New York State Assembly, and ADL New York/New Jersey—will hand out thousands of free books across all five boroughs. You can find out exactly where right here.

It's your lucky night at House of Yes, which is throwing a green-filled party with games of chance, dance, overflowing pints of Guinness and more St. Paddy's-themed fun. It's free with an RSVP or $10 without. It begins at 10am on March 17.

Step back in time and explore the city’s organized crime history with this Saturday-evening walking tour. Beginning at the southeast corner of 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue, the tour visits the streets and establishments where infamous Irish gang members once reigned supreme and did their dirty deeds.

Irish artist Pierce Turner, who just released a new album entitled "Terrible Good!" will perform with fellow NYC-based Irish excompatriot Gerry Leonard, who has famously collaborated with artists including David Bowie, Suzanne Vega, and Rufus Wainwright. (They created "Terrible Good!" an Irish rock album with a New York attitude, together). They'll play with an all-star band, including Leonard on guitar, Tony Shanahan on bass (Patti Smith), and Yuval Lion on drums (David Byrne) at Joe's Pub in Manhattan on March 17th. Tickets are $25.

New York's only preserved 19th-century home takes you through its fourth-floor servants' quarters, which were carefully restored and repainted in their original colors. Learn about the daily successes and struggles of the Irish immigrants who worked as staff in the mid–19th century. At the haunted house tour on Friday night, uncover the mystery of some of the bizarre occurrences that took place in the servants' quarters, and face the specters of family members who passed away in the house. 

Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge at Moxy Times Square will celebrate on Saturday, March 19, beginning at 4pm. Magic Hour will host the ultimate St. Patty’s weekend party with DJs Lohrasp Kansara with Ramen. Its Party Pouch cocktail is getting a makeover for St. Patrick's Day weekend (March 17-20). Guests can enjoy a green Party Pouch to celebrate the luck of the Irish!