Richmond set to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, first full event since 2020

Richmond held its first St. Patrick’s Day event at Memorial Hall in 2019, when the village still owned the building and before COVID-19 shut down many events in March 2020.

Sold to Sam Everly and SH Capital LLC in 2021, the venue is now The District at Memorial Hall and will now host the village’s St. Patrick’s celebration again, Village President Toni Wardanian said.

“The new owners are generously donating” use of the venue to Richmond for the event, she said.

Festivities kick off at 4 p.m. and goes to 9 p.m. Friday at the The District at Memorial Hall, 10308 Main St. The event is free and open to the public and includes live music by Cirrus Falcon, bagpiper Shawn McDonald, McNulty Irish dancers, vendor booths, children’s actives, Irish soda bread, a “roaming leprechaun” and food and drink for sale.

Attendees age 21 and older will be entered into drawing for two gift baskets valued at over $100 each.

For anyone who has not seen the renovated building yet, Wardanian invited residents and visitors to do so.

“I think this is a nice way to showcase the building. We never wanted to hurt the building” by selling it to a private developer. The work done there, she said, has renewed the venue for the village.

“It is a gorgeous building. When you see the before and what they have done to it now, it is outstanding,” Wardanian said.

When Richmond sold the historic building in April 2021, it was not without controversy. But that sale came with the promise of continuing to hold public events there, Wardanian said.

“They said that from the very, very beginning, that they would have a handful of (community events) there throughout the year,” Wardanian said.

When Everly and his wife, Heather, purchased the building it was their intent “to keep it used by the city,” Sam Everly said. “I grew up in Spring Grove, so it was important to have it for the community to use it.”

The District hosted Christmas of Yesteryear last year for the village and is looking to host another event next fall, Everly said.

Public reaction to the venue has also been positive, based on the number of weddings and other events booked. “We have a lot of Friday and Saturday weddings. Our summer and fall are sold out, and we are lining them up for next year,” Everly said.

The last St. Patrick’s Day event held there was on Feb. 29, 2020, before the pandemic cancelled other events in the area, Richmond Management Analyst Kristen Murphy said. It was canceled in 2021, and last year, the village held a Shamrock Search through the downtown in lieu of a full event.

“This is the first year that we are bringing it back with the same format,” Murphy said.

A full schedule of the entertainment and event booths can be found at the St. Patrick Celebration in Downtown Richmond Facebook event page.