Ford City businesses hosting St. Patrick's Day crawl
The event features live music, a DJ, plus food and drink specials
Ford City's heritage is more French than Irish, but that hasn't stopped a group of businesses in the Windsor neighbourhood from coming together to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
The event, featuring live music, food and drink specials and a DJ, is jointly presented by Sawyer's Craft BBQ, Cookie Bar and Chapter Two Brewery.
"Last year, Sawyers – they hosted a St. Patrick's Day event where they shut down Whelpton Street, and it was … massive," said Shane Potivin, the chair of the Ford City Business Improvement Association, which is not organizing the event, but is helping to promote it.
"It was crazy. There was like so many people. … So yeah, the Ford City Crawl – this was sort of birthed out of Sawyer's having their event last year."
People can purchase five-dollar wristbands at any of the participating venues, then stroll from venue to venue, said Potvin, who is of Irish ancestry.
While the crawl is a new addition to the Ford City event calendar, large events such as Dropped on Drouillard and flea markets in April and October are part of what make the community what it is, he added.
"It's really … has a vibe, and there's lots of art," Potvin said.
"There's a lot of old murals and sculptures, and the street's really narrow, so it kind of has this small-town feel, more than you're in a big city. ... The neighborhood is very villagey because everyone is so close."