Neighborhood goes Irish for annual festival
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A crowd of Columbia residents adopted Irish heritage for the day as they packed the streets of Five Points to ring in St. Patrick's Day with live music, greasy food and a variety of beers.
Dressed in all shades of green, from mint to olive, and forest to teal, festivalgoers spent their Saturday roaming Harden, Greene and Devine Streets and Santee Avenue, taking in the sights and sounds of the annual event.
The first wave of the St. Pat's in Five Points crowd came early, as the day kicked off at 8 a.m. with the Get to the Green 5K run and one mile walk. Following the race, St. Pat's attendees lined the sides of Devine Street to watch the parade roll by.
Several community groups marched through Five Points, waving and throwing beads to the crowd. Parade participants included Starlet Dance Company, the Knights of Columbus, one of Columbia's community drum circles, various pageant winners, South Carolina Pride, local political candidates on the campaign trail and an area roller derby team.
The smells of fried treats and sizzling meats filled the air all day as hungry attendees formed long lines to purchase funnel cakes, butterfly chips, hot sausages, corn dogs and oversized turkey legs. Columbia food trucks 2 Fat 2 Fly and Alfresco Mobilista were also on site, offering nontraditional dishes like macaroni and cheese-stuffed chicken wings and pork and pineapple tacos.
Christine Burke, a third-year anthropology student, sold Brazilian steak skewers and Brazilian-style hot dogs outside of Villa Brazil on Saturday. Burke was excited to serve customers, as she had never attended the festival before.
In addition to selling traditional cuisine, Villa Brazil had a selection of merchandise, from beaded necklaces to striped kelly-green pants, available for purchase.
"All of our merchandise today is green," Burke said.
Many festivalgoers drank beer from the early hours of the morning, with some feeling too tipsy to stay past noon. After the official festivities ended, attendees moved the party from the streets into the bars as long lines snaked down the sidewalks. Beer offerings included brews from festival sponsors Budweiser and Miller Lite as well as specialty draughts like Sierra Nevada ales, Stella Artois and Guinness, a true Irish favorite. Some vendors sold green beer, but 24 oz. cans of Bud Light seemed to be the most popular beverage among the crowd. The lowest price for beer was $4, but many attendees chose to spend more to get their alcohol fix, including $7 slushies from Breakers Bar & Grill (formerly known as Dr. Rocco's) and $9 large margaritas from Mucho Margaritas.
Nineteen bands performed at St. Pat's this year, moving the crowd to sing along, sway, clap and shout. Five stages were set up around the festival area and each performance space had a different genre to offer. The Miller Lite stage on Greene Street brought rock 'n' roll to Five Points, from the alternative, punk sounds of local band Isabelle's Gift to festival headliner Hinder, who drew the largest crowd of the day.
Hinder's high-energy, grungy set featured hits like "Better Than Me," "Use Me" and the band's best-known track, "Lips of An Angel," as well as newer songs like "What Ya Gonna Do." Hinder lead singer Austin Winkler strutted around the stage, howling loudly and pumping up the crowd.
"We'd like to thank you guys for coming out, getting drunk and listening to some rock 'n' roll," Winkler said.
The WCOS 97.5 FM stage showcased more indie fare, including Battle of the Bands winner Heyrocco. The Free Times/Budweiser stage hosted a variety of acts from the rockabilly twang of Josh Roberts to the reggae stylings of The Movement. The WXRY 99.3 FM stage hosted The Mobros and The Bastard Suns, whose cover of Flogging Molly's "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" garnered a deafening applause.
As the sun went down on Saturday, sunburned festivalgoers left filled with food and drink, content with the entertainment the festival had to offer this year.