Businesses, organizations prepare for St. Patrick's Day

It's that time again -- time to get out the one green item of clothing you own and celebrate being Irish, if only for a day.

To help, there are a few St. Patrick's Day-related activities going on in Cape Girardeau Wednesday, the best known being the annual pub crawl in downtown Cape Girardeau.

The pub crawl will get underway at 6 p.m. Wednesday. At least 10 bars and restaurants will be participating.

Revelers may pick up a ticket at any of the participating bars and restaurants and have it stamped at each place they visit. Once the card is fully stamped, it can be traded in for merchandise from drink distributors who will be on hand at some locations.

People can start and finish the pub crawl at any of the participating bars or restaurants.

"It's just a fun thing for everyone," said Dale Pruett, Port Cape's bar manager. Pruett said he sees groups of pub crawlers on the street every year, being friendly to each other and offering information on what places to go and what drink specials are being offered.

At The Royal N'Orleans restaurant there will be drink specials and corned beef and cabbage, karaoke and -- the beverage no St. Patrick's Day would be complete without -- green beer.

Each of the businesses taking part in the event will donate $50 to the Downtown Merchants' Association's beautification project.

Some of the other bars and restaurants participating in the pub crawl are: Rude Dog Pub, Mollie's Cafe and Bar, Breakaway's Bar & Billiards, The Billiard Center, Broussard's Cajun Cuisine, The Pour House, Jeremiah's and Ragsdale's.

For a different kind of celebration, there is the Lion's Club 66th annual Pancake Day, which happens to fall on St. Patrick's Day this year.

Pancake Day runs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the A.C. Brase Arena Building.

"It's a huge, major deal," said Lion's Club member John Mehner. Tickets are $3, and sausages cost a dollar extra. But pancakes are free to anyone who brings in a pair of used eye glasses. All proceeds from the event will go toward the Lion's Club.

You can even get an Irish experience Wednesday at the California Juice Club, a Mediterranean cafe where traditional Irish music will be played all night to make you think of the Emerald Isles while biting into your gyros or moussaka.

kalfisi@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182