Boston, Chicago, Savannah and Dublin Are Fun But A Jimmy Buffett Show Makes It a Wild Weekend in Waikiki Beach
The biggest party for St. Patrick’s Day t might well be the parades, pub crawls and crowds in Boston; Chicago; New York; Savannah, Ga; and of course Dublin.
But the biggest party of the entire weekend this one year was in a place you would least likely expect it: Honolulu, Hawaii.
No, I’ve not mixed Mai Tais with green beer. Been hit with an outrigger canoe oar instead of a lei. Lost my way in paradise.
The reason is simple: No other city, place or destination had the 1-2-3 Hawaiian punch that Honolulu delivered back in 2012.. It’s not just a party, it’s parties.
There’s no parade in Honolulu, but there are a number of Irish bars and on St. Patrick’s Day officials close the streets near one and have a block party. Several thousand people attend and it’s almost if you are in Ireland itself. It’s fun, it’s crazy and, like in the cities mentioned above, you are outside drinking beer, wearing green and pinching people.
But that’s just the beginning. The warm-up, the pre-party to the bigger festivities yet to occur.
And those happen the next day with a double-dose of fun that turns lasses and lads into Parrotheads.
First, because St. Patrick’s Day that year was a Saturday, that meant the next day was Sunday. And in Honolulu – right in the center of Waikiki Beach – that means Duke’s on Sunday. It’s a weekly tradition and is such an institution that locals go there, and that’s saying something because Duke’s is primarily the prime tourist spot on the beach. Whenever locals go to such a place, you know it’s a ritual.
A big part of the attraction is local island legend Henry Kapono, who plays nearly every Sunday on the lanai steps from the sand on the World’s Most Famous Beach. The action starts about 4 and goes until just past sunset.
On this particular Sunday, the place was packed with people in leis, grass skirts, coconut bras and big hats with parrots sticking out of them drinking boat drinks, because soon after Kapono plays his last note, Jimmy Buffett will took the stage at the Waikiki Shell.
That’s right, immediately after Duke’s On Sunday you had Jimmy Buffett playing an intimate outdoor venue by Diamond Head! This will be a moving tailgate party from Duke’s (and also a few from Jimmy Buffett’s bar, the Beachcomber) to the Shell. Not all the animals in that area will be at the Honolulu Zoo that night!
The mere thought of that happening will have Duke’s slammed all day, and then people will simply make the 15-minute walk to the Shell.
And if you don’t think that’s a party, you don’t know your green beer from a boat drink.
Yes, the place to be that St. Patrick’s Day was Honolulu. Although I would never mind being in Chicago, Boston or my old St. Paddy’s stomping grounds of Savannah.
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