Get Your Green On!

The beauty of St. Patrick's Day is that even if you aren't Irish, you can get in on the party. The more the merrier! Sure, there is a religious history to St. Patrick of Ireland, but the holiday has become synonymous with shamrocks, luck, leprechauns, and green beer.

Although there aren't any OTP parades, there is the official Atlanta St. Patrick's Day Parade downtown on Saturday, March 14th at noon. It is the 133rd St. Patrick's Day Parade in Atlanta, which first started in 1858. Grab a seat at Meehan's Public House downtown to watch the parade or visit one of their other locations. Sandy Springs is the closest to OTP.

A Forced Family Fun event is happening in Lawrenceville on March 28th. The Fifth Annual Spring Green Festival is the largest St. Patrick's Day festival in North Georgia. They are expecting more than 10,000 guests. Click here for more info about their 5K, car show, bounce houses, arts and crafts, Southeast Wheels car and motorcycle shows.

And luckily, there are many Irish themed restaurants and pubs throughout OTP. Two very authentic Irish pubs are Chateau Elan's Paddy's Irish Pub and Milton's Olde Blind Dog; both of which have actual bars and booths brought over from Ireland! You will love the food and atmosphere, and you definitely need to save room for dessert. Milton's Old Blind Dog recently won the 2015 International Irish Pub of the Year!

Check out Donovan's Irish Cobbler in Woodstock, or Keeghans Irish Pub with both East and West Cobb locations. And just off the Marietta Square you'll find Johnnie MacCracken's. Roswell is home to Harp's Irish Bar and Mac McGee Irish Pub, and if you're in Cumming, check out Good Ole Days Irish Pub & Grill. Let us know your favorite Irish Bar!

New this year for the "Lassies and Lads", Avalon is hosting a "Luck of Avalon" scavenger hunt. Check their Facebook page for event details. The Avalon Squirrels will be busy! For the 21 and over crowd, they will also have pub crawl from 3-10.

In addition to all these great Irish restaurants, OTP is lucky to have two different Leprechaun themed books that were created here. They are great and creative gifts for younger children or teachers in your life. There are a couple of charity events around town, too, like St. Baldricks for children's cancer and Color Me Green 5K.

We also scooped out a really cool and interesting book called Irish Pubs in America: History, Lore, & Recipes that features the Olde Blind Dog. The beautiful hardcover book can be found in Roswell at The Chandlery and in Milton at Broadwell Cottage.

Enjoy the live music, the atmosphere, and may the luck be with you. As the saying goes, "If you're lucky enough to be Irish, then you're lucky enough."

And that's the Irish Scoop!

If you like this article, you may enjoy the story and the food behind Papa P's in Woodstock, which has been featured and will be featured again on Good Day Atlanta TV with Paul Miliken St. Patrick's Day morning.

Tatyana is Lithuanian born graduate of Vilnius University Law School where she successfully practiced law, and created a widely read European Fashion Magazine. In the United States, since becoming a citizen, Tatyana has been a successful Commercial and Mortgage Lender at Bank of America, a licensed Financial Advisor, and the founder of The Georgia Commerce Club which is the largest privately owned chamber in the Nation. As a Real Estate Agent she brings her marketing and networking skills and some European Style and Fashion to help her clients find their perfect home.