35th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Bar Stroll

March 18, 2013



* photo by Noa Siegrist



Kim



35^th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Bar Stroll



Matt

The 35^th annual St. Patrick’s Day bar stroll took place recently and for the second straight year, Kathy & I got to participate together. This year we were joined in the shenanigans by our friends Noa and Lee. For the past few years, I have taken photos for the founder and organizer of the event, our friend Rick who has been there since the beginning when the stroll was actually a race, known then as the St. Patrick’s Day Suds Run.

Lee

Jill & Graf

The competitive nature and increasingly number of ill participants who could not handle running over a mile and downing beers at a series of a dozen or more stops precipitated a move to a more leisurely and popular bar stroll a few years in and it has been one of the largest events of the spring in Key West ever since. A few of the old original suds Run crew are still around, including our friend Buco, who won some of those earliest races and as recognition is given entry # 0001 every year.

Revati

Traditionally held on the Saturday that is closest to St. Patrick’s day itself, the event  was held this  on the day prior . We gathered at the starting location along with perhaps a thousand other revelers, both official participants and those who simply tag along, often pulling wagons, kegs and small homemade bars along with them on the route.

Robyn & Bethany

Michael & Lee

The weather was perfect and the crowd, which was a diverse mixture of locals, spring breakers, old-timers and young kids almost all wearing green, either the t-shirts from the event or some other manner of festive St. Paddy’s gear. At noon sharp the beer started flowing at the Southernmost Beach Café as Rick gave the official starting command.  We had  an additional two large groups of friends that we sort of took turns hanging out with in a very disorganized meandering as we headed down Duval Street, stopping at every official stop for our free beer plus a number of unofficial stops that were not actually part of the organized stroll.

Marco & Tess

With-in a few stops the mass of participants was strung out along the length of Duval Street, a green-hued parade of happy people enjoying the day. Stops included the Tiki Bar at the Southernmost Hotel pool, , McConnell’s Irish Pub, Aqua, Charlie Mac’s, Jack’s Seafood at the La Concha, Kelly’s, The Bull, Rick’s and the Schooner Wharf Bar. 

Kathy & I made additional stops at the likes of the Green Parrot as well and we stopped with our friends in front of the Court House for their annual St. Patrick’s Day pyramid photo, which is always fun. In fact the entire day was fun, a lot of fun. I’m sure that I had a few too many, but Kathy was there to keep me on the straight and narrow.

Debbie

 

One of the traditions of the stroll is for pairs to perform wheelbarrow walks across Duval Street in front of Rick’s & Sloppy Joe’s. The police actually stand there and stop traffic for the generally drunken strollers to perform this feat, which often has hilarious spills and thrills as drunken wheelbarrowers often face plant into the asphalt.  We did not see that happen this year, but sadly heard that it happened to a friend of ours who bruised her face up pretty good. Ouch. Well time heals and maybe next year she will be content to just watch with us.

 

Jim