From Patrick to pierogi: Ways we enjoy spring’s celebratory season

Good news, everyone: We’ve finally reached the days when we thankfully emerge from winter, toss off the blankets that bundled us through four months, and enter a glut of celebrations that yields everything from Easter baskets, Mardi Gras beads, and college basketball buzzer-beaters.

It’s a magical time, but when considering this annual period of prominent occasions, our team has been engaging in or thinking about two specific events—St. Patrick’s Day and Dyngus Day. Both globally renown dates offer plenty of ways to celebrate Irish and Polish ancestry, but which bars, restaurants, and parade routes near our New York State offices boast the best way to bask in the celebratory elements of each occasion on either the day of or all year long?

With the former green-hued affair now in the rearview, we’re obviously in an ideal, recent-experience position to judge some of the holiday’s most festive accompaniments and know where to access each throughout the rest of the year. But with the latter, interest and expectations provide plenty of direction as to where (and how) to celebrate near some of our statewide locations on (and after) April 21.     

Consider these casual recommendations or expert guidance. Or better yet, call this suggested direction from our team to you, in hopes of leading you to a great drink, dish, or way to celebrate the heritage of our shared communities. 

For drink: New York City
To honor: Irish tastes
The place: The Dead Rabbit

These two celebrations have plenty in common, but finding the right items to drink while toasting one’s heritage is chief among them. For year-round toasts to Irish history and culture, many revelers traditionally veer toward Guinness, so it’s only right to recommend an NYC locale annually heralded for pristine pints 365 days a year. Yes, there’s no shortage of Irish pubs near all our offices, but when nestled in a wood-hewn corner of this dimly lit Financial District oasis—and with a perfectly poured serving of stout—you’ll know (and taste) you’re in the right location.  

For food: Rochester
To honor: Polish tastes
The place: Polska Chata

No Dyngus Day starts or finishes without healthy helpings of such Polish delicacies like pierogi, gołąbki (stuffed cabbage), kielbasa, and maybe a sweet pączki somewhere in the mix. At Rochester’s Polska Chata, they boast an entire menu of ethnic favorites year-round, but each dish—including their wide variety of pierogi platters—are especially complementary this time of year. Yes, Buffalo remains the New York hotbed for all things Dyngus. However, for those donning the red and white across the Flower City, this should be your holiday culinary destination.     

For music: Albany
To honor: Irish history
The place: Irish American Heritage Museum

So many people associate traditional Irish music as a once-a-year artform performed in the corner of public houses to a crowd of swaying patrons. Does this happen inside Irish-named bars, pubs, and taverns across the Capital Region throughout March? Yes. But the authentic amalgamation of flutes, drums, and fiddles happens within Albany’s Irish American Heritage Museum all year long. Inside the Flanagan Theatre—and part of the museum’s Traditional/Folk Performance and Celtic Influences series—visitors can bask in the same entertainment that thumps annual parties and parades, all while gaining a deeper appreciation for a central element of Irish culture.  

For a parade: Buffalo
To honor: Polish history
The place: Memorial Drive to Broadway

Finally, each of these ethnicities’ marquee celebrations and displays of ethnic pride wouldn’t be the same without their parades. All of The Martin Group’s host cities have at least one vibrant St. Patrick’s Day parade—but only Buffalo has an internationally known Dyngus Day procession. The rowdy affair typically draws tens of thousands to the streets of the city’s Historic Polonia District, all to allow the gathered Polish American masses to celebrate the end of the Lenten sacrifices and amplify the joys of Easter. Do you have to do this while hoisting a Tyskie or dancing the Polka? No—but it certainly helps.

If you want to learn more about our team and what we’re into at The Martin Group, click here.