The Daily Gamecock

Five Points celebrates St. Patrick's Day with 41st annual festival

St. Pat’s in Five Points returned for another great year of music, laughs and drinks on March 18, 2023. Musical acts like Hippo Campus, Moon Taxi and many more performed for the attendees throughout the day. 

A sea of green infiltrated the streets of Five Points on Saturday, as it hosted its 41st St. Pat's event. Starting at 7 a.m., live music and festivities brought in crowds of people from Columbia and all across the state. 

There were four stages spread across Five Points featuring live music. Headline acts included Moon Taxi, Hippo Campus, Nate Smith, and Drivin N Cryin. Other Columbia-based bands such as Stagbriar, E.Z. Shakes, and Opus & The Frequencies also performed throughout the day. 

Jeff Neuman, who came to the Five Points for the music, said he especially enjoyed the inclusion of local artists. 

"It's a perfect way to run this festival," Neuman said. "The headliners are great and I love them all, but having Columbia people involved is great.” 

While there was high attendance at all the stages, Hippo Campus drew the largest audience. Camila Dorst, a fourth-year international business major, couldn’t wait for the band to appear for its late-night act.

“13-year-old me is screaming," Dorst said.

Once the highly anticipated band arrived, people created a thick crowd that made it almost impossible to get in. Some individuals decided to climb up trees, and other people's backs to get a better view of the artists. 

For those who were not interested in the music, St. Pat’s in Five Points offered karaoke, wall climbing and many food booths. Food vendors sold crowd favorites, like funnel cakes, turkey legs and BBQ.

Brett Evatt, a fourth-year environmental studies student, said he saw the holiday and festival as an opportunity to meet new people. 

“When you go to the St. Patrick’s day festival at Five Points, you run into people all over Columbia, even all over the country," Evatt said. "It's about meeting up with people that you may or may have never not met, and connecting with them."

Within the crowd, some individuals got into the spirit and dressed in elaborate shades of green. Dwayne Schumpert, a local who visits the festival almost every year, was covered head to toe with green wigs, robes, balloons, ornaments and other assorted Irish trinkets. He estimated that 2,000 people went up to him to take selfies.

The festival allowed the community to party and celebrate, and to Grace Brown, a fourth-year journalism student, it was especially meaningful.

"It just means a lot that this festival is right before graduation or really close to May, because it's one of the last things we all get to do as roommates and get to do together,” Brown said. “We all love listening to music and getting to drink.”

Editor's note: Grace Brown previously wrote for the opinion section of The Daily Gamecock. 


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