St. Patrick's Day Events for Your Lucky Kids in San Diego (March 2022)
Living in San Diego feels pretty lucky, but on St. Patrick's Day we're extra lucky!
11 Places to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day in San Diego
You can celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the traditional fanfare of Irish dancing, music and food at local festivals and parades. Or you can celebrate it the kids' way with making slime, leprechaun traps and scavenger hunts. These fun events are happening between March 12th-21st so you'll have plenty of time to get in a few of these if you're feeling lucky! And even luckier is that 6 out of these 10 events are FREE!
TIP: Plan ahead because most of these events require advanced registration and those that do will fill up quickly.
Contents
🍀 FLUFFY LEPRECHAUN SLIME
Fri, March 11, 2022 from 4-5pm. Slip your fingers into green and gold fluffy slime at the Point Loma Library. Take your creation home, along with the recipe to make more later on. Recommended for AGES 7-12. COST: Free. Register in advance, class will fill up.
📍 Point Loma/Hervey Library. 3701 Voltaire St., San Diego, CA 92107 📞 619-531-1539 💻 website
🍀 ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARADE & FESTIVAL
Sat, March 12, 2022 at 10:30am. Watch the largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade west of the Mississippi this year at Balboa ark. There are over 100 parade entries this year so it’s bound to capture your little leprechaun’s attention. After the parade, head to the festival at Balboa Park, where you’ll find Irish step dancers, Irish folk singers, Celtic music, Irish crafts, food and a kids zone. COST: Free
📍 Parade Route: Starts at Fifth Ave. + Laurel St. It’ll head North up Fifth Ave. to Upas St. and cross to Sixth Ave. and turn South down to Juniper. 💻 website
🍀 LEPRECHAUN KIDS 1K FUN RUN
Sat, March 12, 2022 at 10:15am. Wearing green at this leprechaun fun run will guarantee your kids a good time; quite literally since this is a chip-timed 1K run. Kids will also get some lucky green sunglasses and gold in the form of a medal for finishing! The kids run is for AGES 12 and under, parents can run with their kids (bonus claps for matching family attire). Start/finish lines: Garnet Ave. + Bayard St. in Pacific Beach.
The Kids 1K Run starts at 10:15am; while the 5K Run Starts at 9am. COST: $25/kids, $45/adults. Registration is required.
📍 912 Garnet Ave., Pacific Beach 92109 💻 website
🍀 ST. PATRICK'S DAY COOKIES & CRAFTS
Sat, March 12, 2022 from 3-4:30pm. Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with leprechaun cookie decorating and crafts at the Mission Hills Library. This event will bring your kids good luck, or at least some free cookies! Recommended for AGES 5-13. Cost: Free! Register in advance, class will fill up.
📍 Mission Hills Library. 215 W. Washington St., San Diego, CA 92103 📞 619-692-4910 💻 website
🍀 HOUSE OF IRELAND LAWN PROGRAM
Sun, March 13, 2022 from 11-4. You’ll be welcomed into the House of Ireland and front lawn for their annual day of Irish traditions. They’ll serve up Irish treats all day from 11-4, including their famous Irish coffee (non-alcoholic), Irish stew and baked goods. Starting at 2pm, immerse yourself in live Irish step dancing, Celtic music and other traditions. Cost: Free!
📍 House of Ireland. 665 Pan American Plaza, Balboa Park 📞 619-531-1539 💻 website
🍀 LEPRECHAUN TRAPS
Tues, March 15, 2022 from 5-6. Try your luck at trapping leprechauns at this fun class held at the Valencia Park Library. Kids will be challenged to design and create their own traps, while learning about Ireland and leprechaun lore. All ages are welcome. COST: Free! Register in advance, class will fill up.
📍 Valencia Park/Malcolm X Library. 5148 Market St., San Diego, CA 92114 📞 619-527-3405 💻 website
🍀 LEPRECHAUN SCAVENGER HUNT
Tue March 15 – Sun March 20, 2022 during open hours. Follow the gold coins to find a lost leprechaun in the garden. This self-guided scavenger hunt will take you through shamrock meadows and rainbow tunnels. Keep your eyes open for a secret clue along the way from Ms. Smarty-Plants! COST: $4-$8; ages 2 and under are free.
📍 Water Conservation Garden. 12122 Cuyamaca College Dr. W., El Cajon, CA 92019 📞 619-660-0614 💻 website
🍀 ST. PATRICK'S DAY POTATO PARTY (Military Only)
Thur, March 17, 2022 from 3-5. “Potatoes for everyone!” at this military family event at Crews Park. There’ll be traditional Irish food and fun, including a river dancing group, bagpipes, a fiddle player, shamrock cookies and an inflatable bounce house for the kids. Be sure to pre-order your Irish pizza or traditional Irish dinner ahead of time. COST: free to attend, food cost is extra.
Note: This event is only open to those with valid Military ID and their guests (Active duty, Retiree, Dependent, DOD or Contractors)
📍 North Island Naval Air Station, Coronado 📞 619-545-1011 💻 website
🍀 NORTH PARK THURSDAY MARKET
Thur, March 17 from 3-7:30pm. This is a weekly farmer's market (normal hours are 3-6:30pm rain or shine) with fun events and music throughout the year. This year for St. Patrick's Day they'll have local kids favorite rock singer Hullabaloo at 3pm and another favorite G3 Kids for fun and obstacle course, other kids activities and more. Swami's will have a dine-in or take-out traditional Irish feast of corned beef, cabbage & beer. Event Info
📍 between 29th + Ray St. on North Park Way, San Diego, CA 92104 💻 website 📲 @shopnorthparkmarket
🍀 ST. PATRICK'S DAY TEA
Thur, March 17 – Mon, March 21, 2022 at 11:30am, 1pm or 2:30pm. Savor everything Irish at this “green-themed” tea service. You’ll delight in an Irish vegetable soup served with Irish soda bread, finger sandwiches and pastries like scones with jam and carrot cake.
Children under 12 will get a special kid-friendly service; vegetarian and gluten-free available with advanced notice. Available for service inside, outside (weather permitting) and even as a to-go option. COST: $9.95/kids, $32.95/adults. Reservations are required.
📍 Julian Tea & Cottage Arts. 2124 Third St., Julian, CA 92036 📞 760-765-0832 💻 website
🍀 ST. PATRICK'S DAY SCIENCE
Sat, March 19, 2022 at 9am and 11am. Experiment with St. Patrick’s Day Science at the Fleet Science Center’s Junior Science Club. Kids in grades 1-4 will be fascinated with color-changing cabbage juice and harnessing the power of a potato. COST: $13/members, $15/non-members. Advanced registration is required. This will sell out.
📍 Fleet Science Center. 1875 El Prado, Balboa Park 📞 619-238-1233 💻 website