40th Annual St. Pat’s in Five Points returns this Saturday
March 16, 2022
All Roads Lead to Five Points for Columbia’s Favorite Irish Fest on March 19th!
After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Five Points Association is pleased to announce the return of St. Pat’s in Five Points this Saturday, March 19th. This is a special year as Columbia’s much-loved Irish tradition celebrates its 40th Anniversary.
Forty years ago, Duncan MacRae of Yesterday’s Restaurant & Tavern, Steve Gibson of Peddler Steak House, Chuck Pettit of the Columbia Jaycees and Tony Latella of PYA Monarch sat down in a booth at Yesterday’s Restaurant & Tavern, had a few beers and devised a plan to increase the visibility of Five Points’ businesses on St. Patrick’s Day when most people were leaving town for Savannah. The Annual St. Pat’s in Five Points emerged forming a fun-filled festival benefiting children’s charities in the Midlands.
The Five Points Association hosts the Southeast’s largest one-day St. Patrick’s Day event that garners an average of 45,000 attendees between all the day’s events. Festivities will begin with the Get to the Green 5K/10K and 1-Mile Family Fun Run, the St. Pat’s Parade down Devine Street into Five Points, the Pot O’Gold Playland for the kids, four stages of music, artisan craft vendors, food vendors, green beer and more! The sold-out Tito’s Handmade Vodka VIP Suite will be held at Saluda’s, located at 751 Saluda Avenue, again this year.
“After missing the festival for two years due to the pandemic, the Five Points Association is elated to bring back St. Pat’s in Five Points just in time for its 40th Anniversary,” shares Katy Renfroe, Association Manager. “To have an event running this long that is loved by so many is quite a feat. Second to the SC State Fair, we’re proud to be the largest event in Columbia and hope to break our own attendee record this year.”
St. Pat’s in Five Points welcomes a myriad of demographic attendees – children, families, college students and senior citizens – annually and has a $7+ million economic impact on the City of Columbia and Richland County. More than 35% of attendees travel to Columbia for the festival and come from over 2,000 zip codes and over thirty countries.
This year’s festival will be co-headlined by Grammy winner Blues Traveler and newcomers Surfaces! Blues Traveler is known for their hits “Hook,” “Run-Around,” and “But Anyway” and has several hits within the Top 10 on the Billboard charts. Surfaces is known for their huge TikTok hit “Sunday Best” that has also garnered 750 million streams on Spotify. Also performing are:
Miller Lite, Fox 102.3 & Alt 99.7 Greene and Harden Stage:
- Blues Traveler – Co-Headliner
- Big Something
- Villanova
- George Fetner and the Strays
- The Stews
Michelob Ultra & WXRY Discovery Harden & Blossom Stage:
- Surfaces – Co-Headliner
- The Nude Party
- The 502s
- The Lottery Winners
- Stranger Company
Budweiser & 94.3 The Dude Saluda and Devine Stage:
- Lainey Wilson
- Corey Smith
- The Vegabonds
- Yesterday’s Wine
- Ashley Wright and the Vance Gap Ramblers
White Claw Hard Seltzer & WXRY Unsigned Home Team BBQ Stage:
- Sourwood Honey
- Jake Duby
- The Ramblers
- Danielle Howle and The Tantrums
- The Soul Mites
- Little Bird
Fountain Stage:
- DJ Prince Ice
- FatRat Da Czar – Festival Host
Spinning the best in hip-hop and R&B between artists’ sets is veteran deejay, The Big DM’s DJ Prince Ice, who has been on Columbia’s airwaves for nearly thirty years, and regional hip-hop artist and South Carolina’s godfather of hip-hop, FatRat Da Czar will be this year’s festival host.
St. Pat’s in Five Points also affords the Five Points Association the opportunity to give back to the community that has been its biggest supporter. The FPA will continue the tradition of contributing a portion of money made during the festival to the volunteer groups who help us stage this event. In the festival’s forty-year history, the FPA has donated approximately $1M to local Midlands’ charities including City Year Columbia, Pawmetto Lifeline, Junior Woman’s Club of Columbia, MLK Neighborhood Association, USO of South Carolina, Special Olympics of SC, SC Pride, Sustainable Midlands, United Way of the Midlands, Vietnam Veterans of America – Chapter 303 and many, many more!
“A big part of St. Pat’s is for us to be able to give back to local non-profits and keep the tradition alive that started in 1983,” says Renfroe. “We are pleased to be able to donate, on average, $50,000 annually to Midlands charities.”
This year’s festival is sponsored by Michelob Ultra, Budweiser, Bud Light, White Claw Hard Seltzer, SweetWater Brewing Company, Miller Lite and Yuengling.
Schedule of Events:
7:30am Get to the Green 5K/10K and 1-Mile Family-Fun Run
- Presented by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina
- Register at GetToTheGreen.com
- Starting Line: 2137 Devine Street in Shandon (near Publick House)
- Packet Pick-Up:
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- Thursday, March 17th and Friday, March 18th from 9am-5pm
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- UofSC Veterans and Military Services Office
901 Sumter Street
Suite 105
Columbia, SC 29208
- UofSC Veterans and Military Services Office
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- Saturday, March 19th (Race Day) from 6:30am-7:30am
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- Start/finish line
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9am Festival Gates Open
10am St. Pat’s Parade
- Hosted by Curtis Wilson of The Big DM and ABC Columbia
- Starts at Devine Street and Sims Avenue in Shandon
- Grand Marshal: City of Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann
11am-6pm Pot O’ Gold Playland
- Location: 800 Block of Harden and 2000 Block of College Street
12pm-7pm Musical Entertainment
- Four stages of music from local, regional and national artists
7pm Festival Ends
- Home Team BBQ Stage will end at 8:30pm.
Street Closures:
Friday, March 18th
- 8am – 2100 Block of Greene Street
- 6pm – 600 Block of Harden Street and 700 Block of Saluda Avenue
Saturday, March 19th
- 2am – All other streets within Five Points
Ticketing:
- General admission tickets can be purchased in advance for $20 online only at StPatsColumbia.com and at the gate for $25 with cash or credit. All tickets will be sold digitally – all major credit cards accepted – this year and are not available in paper form. Tickets can be purchased with cash or credit card at the gate on the day of the festival.
- Children 12 and under are admitted FREE with a guardian that is 21+.
- St. Pat’s in Five Points is a rain or shine event, so all tickets are non-refundable.
- Animals are prohibited within the festival perimeter. This festival follows ADA regulations on service animals and does not recognize emotional support, therapy, comfort or companion animals.
- NEW THIS YEAR – Adults/Guardians can receive a one-time re-entry into the festival, and enjoy the rest of the day’s offerings with the Pot O’Gold Pass! No other re-entries are permitted.
Camera Policy:
- Due to contracts with the artists performing at St. Pat’s in Five Points, professional recording equipment – photography, video and/or sound – will not be permitted at the festival without proper media credentials.
Gate Policies:
NEW THIS YEAR – Clear Bag Policy
- To provide a safer environment and more expedited entry for festival attendees, St. Pat’s in Five Points has implemented a clear bag policy that limits the size and type of bags that may be brought into the festival footprint.
- Approved Bags and Items:
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- Clear plastic, vinyl or PVC bags that do not exceed 12″ x 6″ x 12″
- A clear bag shall be clear from top-to-bottom and up to a 2″ trim/border on the bag is generally acceptable
- One-gallon clear plastic freezer bag (Ziploc bag or similar)
- Small clutch bags no larger than 4.5″ x 6.5″ — approximately the size of a hand, with or without a handle or strap
- Medically necessary items
- Strollers
- Baby and toddler items
- Prohibited Bags and Items:
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- Purses larger than a clutch bag
- Briefcases
- Backpacks
- Fanny packs
- Cinch/Drawstring bags
- Luggage of any kind
- Computer bags
- Diaper bags
- Binocular cases
- Camera bags
- Folding chairs
- Lawn chairs
Transportation and Parking:
Satellite Parking
- FREE parking is being offered in the RV Lot at the SC State Fairgrounds located at 1308 Rosewood Drive, Columbia, SC 29201, and The COMET will be running FREE shuttles every thirty minutes from 6am-8pm.
- The shuttle drop-off/pick-up location will be at Blossom and Laurens Streets.
- Face masks are required when riding on The COMET shuttles.
Neighborhood Parking
- Festival parking is prohibited in the following neighborhoods:
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- Hollywood-Rose Hill
- Melrose Heights
- MLK Park
- Old Shandon
- Shandon
- University Hill
- Wales Garden
- Waverly
- Wheeler Hill
- Please help us be respectful of our surrounding neighborhoods and use the satellite parking and shuttle instead.
Handicap Parking
- Handicap parking will be available inside the former Wells Fargo lot located at 705 Saluda Avenue. All patrons will need to follow the following route:
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- From Blossom Street, turn left on Pickens Street
- Take a right on Greene Street then right on Laurens Street and back down to Blossom Street
- Proper identification will need to be displayed for patrons to access the lot.
Rideshares
- Rideshares such as Uber or Lyft pick-up and drop-off locations are at Blossom and Heidt Streets.
Accommodations:
- Out of town patrons coming for the festival are encouraged to stay at the official festival hotel:
- Graduate Columbia, S.C. I 619 Pendleton Street I Columbia, SC 29201
- To get our special Five Points rate, please click here:
For more information on St. Pat’s in Five Points, please visit StPatsColumbia.com. You can also follow the festival on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok @stpatsinfivepoints.
About St. Pat’s in Five Points
St. Pat’s in Five Points celebrates all things green and Gaelic, welcomes the arrival of spring, and promotes the businesses in the Five Points village. Our festival is also the Midlands’ largest annual street festival and the biggest one-day St. Patrick’s Day celebration in the Southeast!
St. Pat’s in Five Points was established in 1983 by Five Points merchants and other local businessmen to increase the visibility of Five Points businesses when Columbians were leaving town to go to Savannah for their week-long St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Today, the festival is put on and managed by the Five Points Association (FPA) with assistance from a committee formed by individuals within the Columbia community.
The FPA will continue to embrace its marquee event, with a focus on Irish authenticity, diverse band selection and quality special events throughout the day.
About the Five Points Association
As an advocate for the district’s businesses, the Five Points Association strives to guide development and improvements that will enhance the vitality of Five Points. The FPA also works diligently to promote Five Points to Columbia and beyond while cultivating inclusivity internally as a neighborhood. Evident by over 100 years of history, viability and recognition as an iconic locale, the success of Five Points would not be possible without the reciprocating support between the neighboring businesses, support staff, partners and companionship of the City of Columbia and Richland County.
While fostering those relationships, supporting the businesses, and continuously showcasing Five Points and its treasures, the Five Points Association and its Board of Directors continue the beautification, collaboration and development efforts to empower growth, upholding the historic legacy of Columbia’s original village neighborhood. For over 100 years, Five Points has grown, evolved and been an icon in Columbia and beyond! For nearly forty years, the Five Points Association has led remarkable endeavors and continues the legacy of priceless accomplishments.
