Maybe it was the luck of the Irish, but the St. Paddy’s Day street party in 2016 was so successful, it’s coming back this year.
Friday, the Warsaw Board of Works approved closing Buffalo Street from Center to Main streets from 9 a.m. March 17 to 2 a.m. March 18 for the celebration. The event will be from 5 p.m. to midnight March 17.
Jason Brown, owner of One Ten Craft Meatery, which hosts the party, said he did get approval for the closure from the businesses along the part of the street to be closed.
“Last year we prepared for about 150 people to show up, and we had about 385 in total show up. So I really feel like it was a huge success for the downtown district and the downtown region,” Brown said. “We had people there from about 5 p.m. on to right around midnight, so we’re keeping the hours very, very similar. It takes about an hour to an hour and a half for the tent breakdown, so we should be able to have the street cleaned up in full by 2 o’clock in the morning.”
He said he had a clean-up crew of his staff and himself last year to make sure the street was up to standard after the event was over.
Mayor Joe Thallemer asked if everyone behaved themselves last year.
“We had zero issues, which was actually a wonderful thing,” Brown responded.
Thallemer said the city appreciated Brown taking the lead on the event and was glad it went well last year.
Brown said One Ten partnered with a few more businesses for this year’s St. Patrick’s Day party, including Mad Anthony’s Lake City Taphouse, B’Macs, Warsaw Party Rental, Blue Note Design and Allegra Printing. “And we’re trying to keep all the business in the downtown area,” he said.
The KC Recycling Depot also will help promote recycling at the event. Brown said a majority, probably 80 percent, of the trash the event creates is recyclable.
Thallemer asked Brown to explain about the alcohol sales and permit. Brown said all alcohol consumption will be under the tent parameters and the party will have two tents this year, with an open air space between them. An entrance and exit both will be controlled by staff. Everyone will be carded, and that will be signified by a wrist band. No alcohol consumption will be allowed outside of the tent area.
For those who do not want to go into the tent and/or consume alcohol, the Parks and Recreation Department is providing picnic tables outside. “We definitely will have an area that’s not all about drinking, if you will,” Brown said.
Thallemer advised him that he should notify county administrator Marsha McSherry of what’s going on and to make sure there’s extra trash cans at the event.
Parks Superintendent Larry Plummer said if Brown needed extra picnic tables that Brown should let him know.
