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How to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day in Steamboat Springs

Spencer Powell
For Steamboat Pilot & Today
Isaac Weinberg, 7, sprints from the starting line alongside his mother, Julie, in the Luck of the Irish 7-kilometer race in 2019. The race will kick off the Steamboat Springs Running Series this year on Saturday, March 18. All proceeds from the race will be donated to the Steamboat Springs Middle School cross country and track programs. 
Derek Maiolo/Steamboat Pilot & Today archive

As luck would have it, it’s almost Friday and almost Saint Patrick’s Day. Better yet, it’s starting to feel like spring and there’s a lot going on for those looking to get out and celebrate the holiday.

Enjoy an Irish pub

After McKnight’s closed on the mountain side of town, O’Neil’s Tavern and Grill is now the only Irish bar in town, so in preparation for their annual St. Patrick’s celebration on Friday, March 17, the staff at O’Neil’s is bracing for impact.

“This has grown bigger every year,” said Mitch Woods, who manages O’Neil’s and Back Door Grill. “Obviously now we’re the only Irish place in town, so it’s all on us to put on a good celebration.”



For some taverns such as O’Neil’s, Saint Patrick’s Day is the busiest day of the year and it’s not even close.

“We always know it’s coming, you know,” Woods said. “But it is fun. Preparing is a lot but we usually figure it out. Once we’re in it, it’s always a good time.”



O’Neil’s will open at 9 a.m. — two hours earlier than usual — and will feature a bagpipe player and a special Saint Patrick’s Day food menu that includes Irish pot roast, bacon wrapped scallops and 26-ounce lamb shanks. Costumes are encouraged.


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Live music

For those wanting to hear a banger while eating bangers and mash Friday evening, there are options.

Denver-based band Magic Beans will be returning to Old Town Pub. Guitarist/vocalist Scott Hachey joked that this will probably be about the 50th time the band has played in Steamboat Springs.

“We’re super stoked,” Hachey said. “We play there every year.”

Magic Beans is frequently described as a hodgepodge of musical stylings, or as Woods describes “the whole diaspora of American music,” from bluegrass to funk, and whose inspirations range from Jerry Garcia to the Artist Formerly Known as Prince.

They’ll be playing some songs from “Unzipped,” an instrumental album they released last summer with songs featured on the Colorado Sound radio station.

Doors open at 9 p.m. and the show starts at 10 p.m. Tickets are $20.

Dave Rollinson and Tim Livingstone pose in their retro style in Banff, Canada. The duo is from Whistler, Canada — a ski town — and tour to ski towns all over.
SkiiTour/Courtesy photo

Just a little down the street, Schmiggity’s will host SkiiTour, a DJ duo from Whistler, Canada that has carved an interesting niche as apres ski musicians.

This will be the first time the duo has been to Steamboat, but the retro ski-town style they embody should fit right in, even if they are both snowboarders.

Tim Livingstone and Dave Rollinson form SkiiTour and have been working together since 2010. They made a name for themselves performing shows in ski towns with apres vibes, complete with fake snow machines and 80s-era ski clothes.

“We were kinda given a slot that was dead — middle of the afternoon on a Thursday — nobody ever came to the stage then,” Livingstone said. “So, they gave us a slot and we turned it into an apres ski party.”

Fans of the duo will even turn out to the shows in full ski gear, so don’t be surprised if someone shows up to Schmiggity’s wearing goggles and snow pants.

The doors open at 9:30 p.m. and tickets are $20.

Enchant your ears

The Steamboat Chamber Singers are putting on two shows on Friday, March 17, 2023.
Steamboat Chamber Singers/Courtesy photo

For those looking to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day away from the bars, the Steamboat Chamber Singers will be performing two concerts at the Bud Werner Memorial Library on St. Patrick’s Day at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Friday.

Christel Houston directs the group of 20 local singers, and this year’s theme is “Coming Home to Ireland.”

Spilt Pint, a local Celtic band will also be playing music for the evening’s festivities, and Irish pub food and beverages are included with each $25 ticket.

Run amok 

The Steamboat Springs Running Series kicks off this weekend with the Luck of the Irish 7K on Saturday, March 18. 

Registration for adults is $35 through Friday and $40 on race day. For children 17 and under, registration is $15 through Friday or $20 on race day. All proceeds will be donated to the Steamboat Springs Middle School cross country and track programs. 

The race kicks off at 9 a.m. and brings participants through downtown and offers gorgeous views of Strawberry Park and Buffalo Pass.


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