The Blade: Recalling St. Patrick's Day fun and celebrating youth education
TODAY is the first day of Spring! Daffodils and crocuses are starting to bud.
But fun memories linger of Irish wannabes, real Irishmen, and a few leprechauns that were out and about in honor of St. Patrick's Day, sporting green attire and shamrocks.
I saw a rainbow so bright that surely a pot of gold was at the end after the storms on Sunday.
All through T-Town the popular menu was bangers and mash, green eggs, Jiggs dinners of corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes, corned beef sandwiches, Shepherd’s pie, Irish coffees, and more.
Toledo Country Club hosted a fancy spread with green linen-covered tables as Irish Bagpipers played. The gilded buffet included everything from mini reubens and Irish beers to beef stout pie and potato leek soup.
The Heights had an upscale St. Patrick's Day celebration, too.
Toledo Harley Davidson hosted a Bangers & Mash St. Patty’s Day Bash with the sausage and mashed potatoes dish from Swig Restaurant in Perrysburg which was booming on Sunday and Monday with its Irish fare.
The Lucky’s St. Patrick’s Day Bar Crawl throughout downtown Toledo on Saturday took guests to seven downtown pubs for Irish food and spirits and music starting at Ye Olde Cock ‘n Bull.
Shenanigans at the Blarney Irish Pub started on Friday and continued through Monday with a heated tent, live music, and Irish food.
Maumee Bay Brewing Company’s annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration on Monday was lively, too.
Genesis Village residents also celebrated St. Patrick's Day on Monday with beer, green beverages, shamrock cookies, and more.
The annual Hibernian St. Patrick’s Day Celebration hosted by St. Patrick of Heatherdowns Church in partnership with the Ancient Order of Hibernians was on Saturday at the church. The big family affair included live Irish music, dancing including a jig or two, authentic Irish food and drinks, cultural exhibits and storytelling, and children’s activities.
Others hosting get-togethers were Sylvania Country Club, which hosted a children's St. Patrick's Day party and Shawn’s Back Door, which has a Jiggs dinner once a month.
Even grocery stores including Walt Churchill's Market and Kazmaier's Market offered Jiggs dinners.
BUT while revelers gathered in green, a community wide event hosted by the Chicks for Charity Inc., the Rotary Club of Toledo, and HOPE Toledo was held Monday at the Glass City Center. More than 500 community movers and shakers gathered over lunch time for a conversation about investing in our community's future through early childhood education, which is everything, noted John C. Jones, president and CEO, HOPE Toledo, who is the recipient of the funds raised. The topic was northwest Ohio’s bright future through a well-educated workforce, which means access to affordable early education and childcare as part of the equation.
“American families need affordable, accessible child care options,” keynote speaker Marica Cox Mitchell, vice president of early childhood at Bainum Family Foundation, said. “Nonprofit organizations must work with community partners, families, and stakeholders to reimagine a child care system that is accessible, equitable, and publicly funded to ensure every child can thrive from the start.”
Panelists included Susan Brown, owner/director, Dorise Brown Fitness and Learning Center; Viengvilay Weis, a HOPE Toledo Pre-K parent; Robyn Lightcap, executive director, Preschool Promise; Vince DiPofi, CEO, SSOE; Mary Ann Rody, executive director, OACCP; Dr. Mary Kay Irwin, senior director, school-based - Nationwide Children's Hospital; and Allison Schlagheck, preschool teacher mentor, early childhood department, Toledo Public Schools.
First Published March 20, 2025, 6:00 a.m.
