The 5 Best Cities to Party in on Saint Patrick's Day

St. Patrick’s Day is an awesome holiday for so many reasons. It’s basically a day where you can dress all in green and drink beer for breakfast, judgement free. And who wouldn’t love that? Irish or not, it’s an easy holiday to get in the spirit for- but some places around the country really know how to get into the festivities. So what are the best cities to be in on St. Patrick’s Day?

1. Boston, Massachusetts

This one comes as no surprise! Boston was actually the first city to host an annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Created by the Irish Society of Boston in 1737, the amazing parade even started before Dublin, Ireland had one! If you ever get the chance to attend the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade, it surely won’t disappoint. It is complete with all the St. Patrick’s Day festivities you can think of, including floats, a marching band, bagpipers, over 850,000 attendees all dressed in green, and of course plenty of booze. 

2. New York City, New York

Like Boston, this was also not much of a surprise. Combine the city’s reputation for their spectacular holiday celebrations with the prominent Irish community and you’ll get one heck of a St. Patrick’s Day party. In addition to their jaw dropping parade, that has more than 2 million people in attendance, you can also head to countless restaurants, Irish pubs, and countless festivals and events for an awesome St. Patrick’s Day party. Take, for example, the Annual St. Patrick’s Day Open Day. This event is hosted at the Irish Arts Center where you and your family can indulge in Irish music, eat delicious authentic Irish cuisine, attend workshops, and watch dances. 

3. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

After Boston, Philadelphia gets to take credit for having one of the oldest St. Patrick’s Day parades. And since it’s creation, it has not gotten any less amazing! Over 500,000 people gather in the city streets to drink, eat Irish food, and celebrate among each other. 

4. Chicago, Illinois

You may not know it, but it is in fact Chicago that takes the reign for one of the largest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the United States. This probably comes from the fact that Chicago has not one but two parades to ring in the holiday. The first parade, on Columbus Drive, draws a crowd of around 350,000 people and the second, on the South Side, sees numbers around 250,000. But perhaps the best and most unique feature Chicago brings to it’s St. Patty’s Day celebration is the “Dyeing of the River.” Each year on March 17 for the past 43 years the city dyes the Chicago River bright green to acknowledge the exciting holiday. I’m definitely putting this city on my bucket list for St. Patrick’s Day!

5. Kansas City, Missouri

This city was a little more of a surprise, but after reading about it I can definitely see why each year over 200,000 people turn up for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Not only is the parade a spectacularly fun event but they give out prizes too. And the grand prize? An all expense paid trip to Ireland. Now that is truly a celebration of the Irish! Even once the parade has concluded, you can continue the party with dozens of Irish pubs to choose from. 

Today is International Women's Day! But Where Did it All Begin?

Being a woman is a wonderful thing, and deserves to be celebrated. But the history behind how a day dedicated to the awesomeness of women is equally amazing. Countless strong and admirable women worked to get this day to be created, so it is not something to think little of! Be sure to take today to recognize their hard work and think of how lucky we are to be where we are today! 

The first time Women's Day was recognized was in 1909. This was a time of oppression and inequality among women. Events leading up to this included the march across New York City by 15,000 women in 1908 demanding voting rights and better pay. Originally the holiday was celebrated on February 28th, it wasn't until 1913 that it was changed to March. 

It was Clara Zetkin who was the original advocate for an International Women's Day. In 1910 a conference of over 100 women from 17 countries gathered to create the day dedicated to women that has been recognized ever since. 

The next year over one million men and women gathered to advocate women's right to vote, hold public office and putting an end to discrimination. When the tragic Triangle Fire in New York City occurred less than a week later, it increased the amount of attention to the issue of women's rights. 

Since then International Women's Day has only continued to grow in both popularity and significance. Since 1975, March 8th has been the day to women worldwide. Large conferences, parades, and rallies have been held on this day ever since to honor the achievements of women and encourage them to continue to push towards complete equality. 

Since the new millennium International Women's Day has been recognized in countless

countries including Afghanistan, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Russia, Vietnam, Ukraine and more. In certain countries the holiday is even as big as Mother's Day, where the women are given flowers and small presents by their husbands and children.

Women fought so hard to have the rights we have today and each March 8th we honor those accomplishments by celebrating International Women's Day, and the United States continue these celebrations throughout the entire month of March by naming it Women's History Month. 

ONCEkids Unsung Females Heroes (Part 4 of 5)

Nancy Lawlor from New York City proves that even the smallest gestures can make a huge difference in someone's life.

She makes our list of unsung heroes because she takes the time to collect flowers from hotels, weddings, and corporate events to give away to people in need. She has even turned this idea into a nonprofit organization, FlowerPower. She was inspired to begin this project eight years ago, sitting in the lobby of the Waldorf Astoria. She remembers how she admired the breathtaking flower displays and thinking to herself that it was such a shame that they went to waste. Like many hotels and businesses, at the end of the day the beautiful bouquets are tossed into the dumpster and replaced with new ones. 

After getting the Waldorf Astoria to get onboard, Lawlor got to work making her plan a reality. Not long after, she had successfully delivered $2,000 worth of huge pink bouquets to a New York City hospital. 

Since then, FlowerPower has delivered more than 2.5 million dollars worth of flowers to those who need it most, including rehabilitation clinics, crisis centers, and hospitals. 

Has your family received a Nook, Kindle or iPad this year?  Find Fujimini Adventure Series award-winning books here.  Great family-friendly gifts.

When asked about her project, Lawlor says, "I've seen thousands of people transformed, all over a single bouquet of flowers that originally would have been thrown away. All it takes is one person to say yes." 

Nancy Lawlor's kindness and generosity shows that even a small act of kindness, such as a bouquet of flowers, can be enough to brighten someone's day and cheer them up during an extremely difficult time in their life. 

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