St. Patty's Day festivites in full swing downtown till 1 a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

It's a lucky day for the Irish in downtown Youngstown, with St. Patrick’s Day falling on this sunny and warm Saturday and throngs coming from all over the region to enjoy the fourth annual St. Paddy’s Day Dash.

Revelers register at the B&O Station Banquet Hall, where bagpipers and Irish Step dancers are performing.

From there, they can ride a trolley loop until 1 a.m. as they patronize 17 participating bars and restaurants in and near the city’s downtown.

Some participants are newcomers to the event and arrived in large groups, and at least one — Erin Bradley of Cortland — is celebrating a birthday with family and friends.

“There are tons of restaurants out here that are awesome,” said Bradley, who tied the event into her 32nd birthday observance.

The trolley is making it easy for her seven-member group to “be safe and have a good time,” she said.

A major entertainment venue is a tent set up in Phelps Street outside the new V2 Wine Bar and Trattoria, featuring popular local acts, including Rudy and the Professionals, George C and Tha Storm and Hoss and the Juggernauts.

A major Irish food venue is the Overture Restaurant at the DeYor Performing Arts Center, where the operator and executive chef, Jeff Chrystal, has prepared breakfast, lunch and dinner, including corned beef and cabbage dinners, corned beef chowder, corned beef omelettes and sandwiches, reuben sandwiches and pizzas, braised Irish lamb stew, braised Guinness steak, Irish salmon, and Irish nachos.

For more on the event, read Sunday's Vindicator or Vindy.com.