Paint the town green

Here are five events to help you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day:

The 15th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade: This free event features more than 50 groups and approximately 1,000 marchers in the streets of Old Sacramento. Some of the participants in Saturday’s procession are costumed Irish dancers, bagpipers, military regiments and school bands. The parade starts promptly at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 12, on the corner of Second and L streets and continues through Old Sacramento. Attendees are invited to celebrate from noon to 6 p.m. Last year, an estimated 15,000 people showed up to enjoy the festivities. For more information, visit www.oldsacramento.com.

St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl: If you feel like celebrating St. Patrick’s Day is about drinking yourself into oblivion, then join Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl, presented by local social club 5Hundy. It begins at the River City Saloon and passes through 17 other venues—including O’Mally’s Irish Pub and Gallagher’s Irish Pub—before concluding with dancing at Shenanigans downtown. The event is free to attend, but you must pay for your own food and drinks—unless someone’s drunken uncle picks up the entire tab first. The all-day event begins at 2 p.m. and ends at 1:30 a.m. For more information, visit www.5hundy.com.

Shamrock’n Half Marathon: A Sacramento tradition, the seventh annual half marathon is already full: Registration filled up in late January. But that doesn’t mean on Sunday, March 13, you can’t put on your favorite green hat, grab a pint of beer and cheer on the runners. According to race organizers, the best places to spectate are in the Capitol Rotunda, near the Convention Center on 13th Street between J and L streets, Shine coffeehouse, the Discovery Park archery range, the Jibboom Street Bridge, Old Sacramento and Raley Field. Visit www.shamrocknhalf.com for more information.

Pub Party at de Vere’s: De Vere’s opens at 8 a.m., provides a corned beef and cabbage lunch at noon and begins charging a $10 cover at 2 p.m. From then on, the entertainment portion begins, featuring the Pipes and Drums of California Professional Firefighters, the Kennelly School of Irish Dance, and local bands Nine-8ths Irish and Whiskey and Stitches. It happens Thursday, March 17, starting at 8 a.m. at de Vere’s Irish Pub, 1521 L Street. Fore more information, visit http://stpatricksday.deverespub.com.

St. Patrick’s Day Party in the Park: De Vere’s is doubling up March 17 by partnering with the Downtown Sacramento Partnership to throw a second party at the same time as their pub party. It happens at Cesar Chavez Plaza and features a day’s worth of entertainment from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. It will have many of the same performers as de Vere’s Pub Party, but also features the BlackEyed Dempseys and Zoo Station. There will also be food from de Vere’s, Grange, Mulvaney’s Building & Loan, Shady Lady and Tuli Bistro. Tickets cost $20-$25 and can be purchased at http://stpatricksday.deverespub.com.