Since 2017, the city of Lewisville has celebrated St. Paddy's Texas Style, a unique event that combines the best of Irish and Texan culture.
This year's event will take place on Saturday, March 18 from 12 to 7 p.m. at Wayne Ferguson Plaza and promises to be a day full of music, food, and family-friendly fun.
“We launched it in 2017 kind of by accident,” said Daren Watkins, Events Coordinator for Lewisville’s Community Relations and Tourism Department. “We had intended to do a Texas Independence event. That year, I think March 2 was on a Sunday or somesuch, so we planned it for the last weekend in April and in typical Texas weather fashion, it got rained out. We still wanted to do an event, so we looked at St. Patrick's Day and decided to do a combination St. Paddy's Irish music festival, married to a Texas Independence day Texas country and Americana music event. The thing just kinda stuck.”
This will be the fifth year for the festival since the event was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic and again in 2021 to adhere with the governor’s ban on public events of more than 10 people. 2022 was the first year back since the pandemic.
The event has grown steadily, attracting a record 3,000 attendees in 2019, and 2,850 in 2022. Watkins said if the weather cooperates, the city may get close to the 3,000 attendance mark again.
With a lineup that includes both Irish and Texan performers, attendees can expect to dance and sing along to everything from music by Justin Pickard and the Thunderbird Winos to performances by Reel Treble.
While the event isn't particularly vendor-heavy, there will still be plenty of food and drink options for attendees. And for the kids, there will be attractions like the interactive hitting cage from the Texas Rangers baseball team.
“The Rangers thing is pretty cool,” Watkins said. “And we will have a great display and attraction from our fire department planned. It will feature a wrecked fire engine and squad car to hopefully educate folks to the importance of slowing down and using caution around emergency vehicles. They will also have things for sale that benefit the local firefighters association, such as a Build-A-Bear workshop.”
For Watkins, the best part of the event is seeing people from all walks of life come together to enjoy themselves.
"They don't have to think about serious things," he said. “They can come have fun and make some memories."
If you're looking for a unique way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and Texas Independence Day, head to Wayne Ferguson Plaza on Saturday, March 18 from 12 to 7 p.m. For more information, visit the City of Lewisville’s Special Events page.
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Arianna Morrison is a reporter for Star Local Media, covering the communities of The Colony, Little Elm, Carrollton, Lewisville, Flower Mound and Coppell. Email her with story ideas and more at amorrison@starlocalmedia.com.
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