:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/baltimorebanner/7JY2KPWQGZEU7KXYPBIC6D4B2Y.jpg)
If you can’t wait for St. Patrick’s Day weekend, there’s plenty of Irish fun to be had in the week through March 13. You could join the Green Beer Races, hear a performance on a button accordion and fiddle, or have a pint of Guinness while listening to pub tunes.
Come on-a my house
7:30 p.m. Friday
If you don’t know Rosemary Clooney beyond the 1954 film “White Christmas,” vocalist Janet Paulsen has news for you.
The singer will be channeling the late vocalist with “Joyful Song, A Tribute To Rosemary Clooney” at the Live Arts Maryland stage at Westfield Annapolis, with some of her best-known pop and jazz works, music from her films and a look at what made her who she was. Clooney, who died in 2002, was also the aunt of actor George Clooney. Featured songs include “Tenderly,” “Mambo Italiano” and “Love: You Didn’t Do Right By Me” from the classic holiday movie.
The cost is $25 plus fees with discounts for students, seniors and active duty military. VIP table for four, $480 plus fees.
Start your engines
7 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday
As many as 3,000 runners from 25 states are expected for the second Annapolis Running Festival, hitting various courses for races that all start at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Events include the Gold Leaf Annapolis Half Marathon, a 10K run and the MedStar Health 5K. While registration for the 10K was full by Thursday, there was still space in the half-marathon and 5K races. $55-$114, plus fees. Pre-registration required.
A portion of the proceeds will benefit Athletes Serving Athletes, the Annapolis Police Foundation, and the Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails.
More about Annapolis
Fees, tolls and taxes: How Maryland plans to squeeze you to pay for transportation
State House complex will add an emergency text alert system later this year
Opinion: Alsobrooks, Trone seek to connect with party faithful at Annapolis breakfast club
Emerald dash
1-6 p.m. Saturday
Before the St. Patrick’s Parade and the sock burnings, the Eastport Democratic Club celebrates the Irish holiday and spring in Annapolis with its Green Beer Races.
Competitors, some in costumes, show up at the club for a series of relay races with six cups of green beer around the course. The winners are the ones who finish first and with the most beer still in their cups. There are green Kool-Aid races for kids, a costumed pet parade, music and food. A $10 donation at the gate is recommended, and proceeds benefit the SPCA of Anne Arundel County.
The event remains the emerald standard of fun in Annapolis.
St. Patrick’s warm-up
3-4:30 p.m. Saturday
St. Patrick’s Day doesn’t arrive until next weekend, but there’s plenty of chance to grab a bit of craic (Gaelic for fun) with a musical celebration at the William Paca House.
Peter Brice, executive director of the New Century American Irish-Arts Company in Annapolis, will perform traditional songs on the button accordion with Tess Hartis on the fiddle.
$25 plus fees, with discounts for Historic Annapolis members and docents, active members of the military and children. Advance registration recommended.
Month of music
4-8 p.m. Sunday
Who knew it was St. Patrick’s Month? Apparently, the folks at the Irish Restaurant Co. did. The company owns three Irish pubs (and a waterfront restaurant), including Galway Bay in Annapolis. There is Irish music every night at the three bars leading up to St. Patrick’s Day on March 17, and more through the end of the month.
If a pint of Guinness or an Irish coffee sounds good on a Sunday afternoon, it will go better at Galway Bay with Joe Basso and Ryan-Allen McKinney, who perform Irish pub tunes, rebel songs, and Celtic-inspired music as the O’McPub Band. Free.
Remembering the ’70s
7:30 p.m. Monday
Whether you remember the music of the 1970s fondly or enjoy the retro fun of listening to your grandma’s jam, Classic Theatre of Maryland will perform some of the best in its March cabaret, “Thank You For The Music.”
The fully costumed and choreographed production repeats Tuesday. $75 plus fees, with discounts for seniors.
Two-dimensional art
5-7 p.m. Wednesday
It may seem odd, but the state tax collector’s building in Annapolis doubles as an art gallery. ”Maryland Muse: A Tapestry of Inspiration” will be on display through June 13.
The Maryland State Arts Council will host a reception at the Maryland Comptroller’s Building for the exhibit, which includes 63 two-dimensional artworks from artists across the state. Free.
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/baltimorebanner/2202b4c8-71b7-4d0f-8d3a-0acdacc40a70.jpg)
Rick Hutzell is the Annapolis columnist for The Baltimore Banner. He writes about what's happening today, how we got here and where we're going next. The former editor of Capital Gazette, he led the newspaper to a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the 2018 mass shooting in its newsroom.
More From The Banner
:format(jpg)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/baltimorebanner/A4DNTRHDDVGRZEDNYBNFOH477A.png)
Suspect in Pikesville AI case set off red flags before racist recording spread
:format(jpg)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/baltimorebanner/7TLUH6DJ2RF25NOET4QFZOXEIM.JPG)
Errors in Nick Mosby’s latest fundraising report raise even more questions
:format(jpg)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/baltimorebanner/CHLFBONARFDUZBH7DSVQYO7ET4.jpg)
Map, dive, cut, lift: An inside look at the Key Bridge salvage strategy
:format(jpg)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/baltimorebanner/R2N3NS34CVAV7C3JKQ2WTP4D74.jpg)