Preparations for a shamrockin' good time at Farmingdale

By Ruth Barajas

A lot of the towns on Long Island celebrated St. Patrick's this month with entertaining parades, amusing bar crawls, lively music and lots of green attire. Most restaurants also provided special drinks and deals during this holiday to be more festive. Farmingdale is home to many different bars and restaurants such as The Villager, located on 306 Main Street. This bar and grill is filled with rotating draft beers & beers from their very own brewery, Riverhead Brew House. 

On Sunday, March 16, 2025, Farmingdale celebrated their 11th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. The parade commenced at 2 p.m. from Northside Elementary School and proceeded south down Main Street to the Village Green. This year's grand marshal was Farmingdale Village Trustee, Cheryl Parisi. Additionally, The parade featured local community groups, fire departments, pipe bands, and village officials. 

Restaurants and bars like The Coop and The Nutty Irishman also hosted St. Patrick's Day events, including bar crawls, live music, drink specials, and themed cocktails, to celebrate the holiday. Many may ask, “How does a bar/restaurant prepare for such a busy festive holiday like St. Patrick’s Day?” Luckily, I was able to ask Jonathon, restaurant manager from “The Villager” for some inside scoop on their preparations.

Two days before St. Patrick’s Day weekend, I visited the restaurant and asked the manager a couple questions regarding preparations, special drinks and giveaways. When asked about getting ready for St Patrick’s Day, Jonathon stated that "the restaurant orders more alcohol and food while also providing a bigger staff." Afterwards, Jonathon mentioned that the restaurant does not participate in the parade but does offer specials of “$6 dollar green beer, $6 dollar green tea shots and $10 dollar Irish car bombs.” 

In addition to secure the safety of the customers and staff, security is put in place earlier on event days incase of an emergency or escalation at the bar. Although The Villager does not offer discounts or raffles to customers wearing green attire, they do give out green bead necklaces and free merchandise, such as t-shirts. The restaurant manager mentioned hopefully in the future they see plans in being part of the yearly parade for this holiday. The Villager is also open until 3AM everyday and will not be opened later for St. Patrick's Day weekend. However, on Monday March 17, they did open earlier since that is the official holiday date. 

In the future, if you ever wonder what to do to enjoy the festive Irish green holiday, go visit Farmingdale for a shamrockin good time!