KYLE MURPHYStaff Writer

Residents looking to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the whole family can experience the luck o’ the Irish at South Jackson Performing Arts Center this weekend. 

The civic center will be having its Saint Patrick’s Day event Friday, March 17, featuring live Celtic music, Irish food, drinks like green beer, a full bar and activities for children like treasure hunts. Doors opening at 5:45 p.m.

Opening the event will be live Celtic music with Emily Rutherford and the Band of Pearls, where concessions will be available. The main act of the evening will be Tennessee Fiddle Ensemble Jim and Inge Wood, Angela Wood and Dakota Lawen on the main stage at 7 p.m. With a total of twenty state folk music championships between Jim, Inge and Angela, the performance of the evening will explore the cultural roots of Ireland with traditional Irish fiddle tunes, songs and sean-nós dance in the modern Irish cèilidh style.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for children 11 to 17 and $8 for children age 10 and under. For more information, visit www.southjackson.org/reservationstickets or call the box office at 931-455-5321. South Jackson Performing Arts Center is located at 404 S. Jackson St.

Saint Patrick’s Day is a cultural and religious celebration held on March 17 to celebrate Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, who returned to Ireland after escaping from slavery, and the arrival of Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century. Today, St. Patrick’s Day celebrates Irish culture with parades, shamrocks and wearing all things green.