From Ned Devine’s in Herndon to the Old Brogue in Great Falls to Galway Bay in downtown Annapolis, the Irish pubs are going to be packed with revelers making the most of St. Patrick’s Day, kicking off an unofficial three-day weekend. Friendly advice: No matter where you’re going, try to arrive as early as possible. Lines usually start building in the afternoon, and no one wants to wait outside while friends are enjoying themselves indoors.
A tip for getting home after the party: SoberRide, the Washington Regional Alcohol Program’s long-running anti-drunken-driving program, offers free and discounted Lyft rides home between 4 p.m. Friday and 4 a.m. Saturday. Look for a code posted on soberride.com at 3 p.m. Friday, and enter it into the app for a $15 ride credit. If the ride is cheaper than that, it’s free; if it’s more, the passenger pays the difference. A limited number of credits are available, so keep an eye on the website and grab the code ASAP.