In case you missed it, yesterday was the Fort Lauderdale St Patrick's day parade. Yeah, I know, it's not even close to St Patrick's day, but that doesn't matter to the people who plan things in this town. Remember, we have Christmas on Las Olas in November. The main photo here was the parade in 2010; the first year that they did the parade, and it was very well attended. Each year the crowds have dwindled and the parade has become a non-issue to me. This year it seemed to be over shortly after it started; I looked out onto Las Olas at 1:15 and it seemed to be over already.
The only good thing about parade day is the "festival" downtown in Huizenga park. Thankfully, they're not doing the petting zoo anymore; there's nothing that stinks up a good festival like barnyard animals. There's live music at the festival, but the park is mostly for families. It's a free event with relatively cheap beer, although one stand was selling irish bangers for $8, which is ridiculous. I got one a couple of years ago for $5.
I bypassed the park on my way and headed straight up the riverwalk. There were more stands this year, selling green stuff mostly.
This is the biggest day of the year for Briny's Riverfront, it's a lot of passive business for them. The regular guy was playing with a green wig doing the regular songs. There was really nothing going on this year; there was very little energy. Just a lot of people sitting around and drinking beer.
They had a big setup way in the back of the bar with corned beef and cabbage, but it wasn't clear what the deal was. There was no sign or flyers; it wasn't a free buffet, and I didn't feel like asking how much it cost. There weren't a lot of people eating it.
Their web site didn't even have this "event" listed; maybe more people would get the food if 1) they knew it was there and 2) if they knew how much it cost?
The most astonishing thing I encountered all day was Suite 100. How is it possible that it's still open?
On a Saturday afternoon with 1000s of people on the Riverwalk, Suite 100 was so dead that they didn't even bother to set up the chairs. Or maybe all of those tables were reserved? Seems unlikely. I haven't been to the Riverwalk in quite a while since there's nothing there anymore, but I assumed that Suite 100 would have closed by now. The guy who owns this need to let it go.
As dusk set in, I walked through the park and there was still live music playing.
Another ho-hum event in Fort Lauderdale. Fort Lauderdale events are like the ocean. The first time you go, when you're like 5 years old, the ocean is the greatest thing ever. Over the years, it becomes less and less interesting. At least there are girls in bikinis at the beach.
Now we can wait a week for the real St Patrick's day. The downtown party is a big deal; if not the same thing every year.
