🍀🌈 Your guide to St. Paddy’s Day in Boston

Happy Friday, Boston!

💀 And a happy Ides of March. Except for you, Caesar.  

👀 What’s on tap today:

• An MBTA near-miss

• Tiktok’s final days?

• The country’s most Irish state 

Up first…

OUT & ABOUT

The luckiest day of the year

The devil works hard, but leprechauns work harder: This Sunday, Southie’s annual St. Patrick's Day parade falls on St. Patrick’s Day proper. How’s that for good luck?

So if you’ve got parade plans, here’s what to know:

📜 Like most things in Boston, the parade is steeped in history. Irish Bostonians have been going hard for St. Paddy’s Day since the 1700s, and the official parade has been in Southie since 1901. But it’s not just for shamrock face tattoos and Guinness. The parade also celebrates Evacuation Day, commemorating the day British forces left Boston for good on March 17, 1776. As for when dartying became part of the official historical traditions, we couldn’t tell ya.

☘️ The parade kicks off at 1 p.m. at Broadway Station. The 3.5-mile route heads down West Broadway Street, then East Broadway almost all the way to Marine Park before turning around and heading west on East 4th Street. A left on K Street and a right on East 5th will bring it to and around Thomas Park before taking Dorchester Street back to Andrew Square. 

🚗 In case it wasn’t already clear: DO NOT DRIVE THERE. Parking is banned on a ton of Southie streets (the city will start towing cars parked on said streets starting at 5 a.m. Sunday), and it’s simply going to be mobbed.

🚇 If you’re taking the Red Line … The MBTA will be running rush hour service on the line between 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., but if crowds get too big, trains could start bypassing Broadway. 

🚂 If you’re taking the commuter rail … Extra trains will be running Sunday, so take advantage of the commuter rail’s $10 weekend pass for unlimited train travel all weekend. There will also be free shuttle buses running between South Station and Southie from 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Here’s a great guide to planning your return trip.

🚌 And maybe skip the bus. MBTA buses won’t be stopping at Broadway or Andrew on parade day, and Routes 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, and 47 will be detoured around the parade area. Plus, friendly reminder: Drinking isn’t allowed on any MBTA vehicles or in stations. <3

👀 For a good view and a good time … Arrive early, and hang out anywhere on Broadway, specifically between Broadway and L Street. Bonus points if you make a reservation at a pub or watch from a pal’s apartment along the route. For a slightly more lowkey viewing experience, try watching from Medal of Honor Park or Thomas Park, or just stream it at home.

🌈 Any questions? Check out the parade’s official website. 

QUICK QUESTION

☘️ Are you going to the parade this year?

TOGETHER WITH THE SHAH FAMILY FOUNDATION

Something to listen to on today’s commute

🤳 We all know about iPad kids, but what about Instagram kids? Social media has become the new playground for Gen Alpha and Gen Z, but with it comes a slew of mental health concerns. In the latest episode of the Deep Dives Podcast, a Harvard adolescent psychologist discusses the challenges of talking with kids about social media concerns and offers advice for parents navigating these tricky waters. Find Deep Dives via Spotify or Apple Podcasts – parent or not, the conversation about addressing concerns about the impact of social media is relatable to all.

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🚇 The MBTA just had (another) close call. I think we’ve seen this film before. Track workers were reportedly almost hit by an Orange Line train while performing track work during service hours on March 1 (seriously, they had to duck into wall cutouts to avoid it). Apparently, the situation came down to a procedural violation by the driver. This isn’t the first time the MBTA has had a near-miss like this, in fact, it’s happened so much that it’s drawn warnings from federal regulators. Speaking of the OL, prepare for its partial shutdown starting Monday (more on that next week). 

📲 We could be witnessing TikTok’s final days. In the U.S., anyway. On Wednesday, the House of Reps. overwhelmingly passed a bill that would ban TikTok unless the company is sold due to concerns of a national security threat from China. But Mass. reps in particular were split on the issue: Five supported the bill (two were co-sponsors), while four voted against it, citing a rushed process, issues with free speech, and great potential harm to Americans, particularly small business owners. If the Senate agrees, President Joe Biden says he’d sign it into law.

💸 Tipped workers: A wage change might be coming. Remember the proposed ballot question about raising the tipped minimum wage from $6.75 to $15? Well, On Tuesday, state lawmakers heard arguments for and against it. Advocates for the change argued the current system leaves employees vulnerable to wage theft and poor working conditions, while those against it (including the Mass. Restaurant Association) cited the risks of further financial strain on restaurants and some workers ultimately netting less money. That’s because the proposal would also rejigger the current tip sharing rules, allowing restaurants to split tips evenly among even non-tipped workers.

🖼️ A one-of-a-kind Holocaust exhibit is in town. As of today, Auschwitz. Not Long Ago. Not Far Away., the largest collection of artifacts from Auschwitz outside of Poland, is up for exhibition at Boston’s The Castle at Park Plaza for a limited time. The exhibit is a collaboration between more than 20 international museums and features over 700 objects with the hopes of showcasing and reflecting on “the complex reality of Auschwitz and the nature of the human spirit.” You can book tickets here.

THINGS TO DO

Weekend plans

🐕 All aboard the (adoptable) puppy parade! Two St. Paddy’s Day parades in one weekend may sound like overkill, but when one of them is a parade of adoptable dogs from Great Dog Rescue New England at Park-9 Dog Bar on Saturday, it’s hard to say no.  

🍀 Have a dry St. Paddy’s Day. For those looking to make sober memories this weekend, head to Dray Drinks in the South End on Sunday for their alcohol-free St. Patrick’s Day party from noon to 6 p.m.

🥸 Go Mike or go home. Night Shift Brewing is hosting their Mike Madness party tonight, and you best come dressed as your favorite Mike (be it celeb, show character, or yourself if your name is Mike). 

🧶 Be sew wholesome. CultureHouse in Union Square is hosting a “Stitch In” on Saturday afternoon for anyone who’s working on a hand-stitched project — or wants to start one!

🥬 Get your greens in. We can’t guarantee green vegetables, but we can guarantee lots of green food at Buttermilk & Bourbon’s St. Paddy’s Day green brunch on Sunday.

— Written by Claire Nicholas

🎉 Want more things to do recommendations? Refer five friends to unlock four bonus items. For those who already have, enjoy below.

ONE LAST THING

The most Irish state in America

Southie residents, you may want to sit down: We regret to inform you that Massachusetts ISN’T the most Irish state in the country.

If you look at the data, New Hampshire shockingly beats us out by almost a full percentage point in terms of population with Irish ancestry, and Suffolk county isn’t even in the top 500 counties with Irish population. 

If you’re a data nerd (or an Irish history buff), there’s a ton of interesting historical info and graphs to be found here on the subject. But for our part, we’ll just reiterate that in terms of partying for St. Paddy’s Day, Boston is still always on top.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🍀 Thanks for reading! Thoughts and prayers to everyone experiencing their first ever Southie parade day. 

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, The Shah Family Foundation, for supporting local journalism and keeping Boston informed on the rising challenges facing our world.

🥦 The results are in: 95% of B-Siders think Gov. Maura Healey’s pot pardon was the right move, 44% of whom thought she should go even further. One reader said: “Punishing people for something that's legal now is like obsessing over an ex. Just let it go and let them live.”

💃 Keep up with us @BostonBSide on IG, TikTok, and Twitter. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected] or [email protected].