ST. PATRICK'S DAY is the ultimate unique expression of what Savannah's all about: That time when Irish Catholic culture meets good ol' Southern hellraising, when our liberal attitude toward strong drink literally spills out into the street, when music, hospitality, spring weather, history, azaleas, and good times all crash together to make one big wonderful one-of-a-kind rowdy mess.
And we do it all again next year.
As Savannah's Bible of entertainment, culture, and general ruckus, we at Connect Savannah have a special attachment to St. Patrick's Day, and each year we put our all into generating a kickass special issue to commemorate the annual holiday in a memorable fashion.
This year's cover shoot was by local photographer and all-around cool dude Bob Jones, who came through in fine style for us.
When he and I were texting back and forth over cover ideas and I read something about "a wall of red Solo cups," I knew instantly we had the right man for the job.
So we basically threw him a bunch of cups and box of St. Patrick's swag and he did the rest. Bob spent a day on set at Meddin Studios with two models, Light and Rachel Armstrong, to create the images with this story (one of which is actually Bob) and of course this issue's cover image featuring Light in full regalia.
See more of Bob Jones's work here.
Also inside you'll find some very practical content on enjoying your St. Patrick's Day experience, from parking and parade info to comprehensive music listings.
Bill DeYoung gets to the bottom of the age-old question about exactly where Savannah's parade ranks among the nation's St. Patrick's festivals, as well as contributing a fine look at a fine local Irish musician, Harry O'Donoghue.
Jessica Leigh Lebos takes a look at the lifestyles of two public servants who make this holiday go so smoothly: Firefighters (of course) and, yes, sanitation workers. She also pens an engaging portrait of a young lady who is almost certainly the most unique bagpiper in the world, Alexandria Davis.
Magdalena Bresson takes a look at a few pre-parade breakfast options, while Tim Rutherford tells a tale of 10,000 tacos.
