For the second year in a row, Dogtown’s signature festival and premier parade are feeling the pandemic pinch. The Ancient Order of Hibernians won’t promenade down Tamm Avenue, and the Dogtown Irish Festival is technically canceled, but the folks at Dogtown United have a few ways in mind to keep Irish eyes smilin’.
“The parade was one of the first events that got canceled last year,” says Isabel Acevedo, vice president of Dogtown United. “We’re going into two years without having that day that is so important to our business community.”
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To take some of the sting out, they’ve come up with three COVID-safe ways to enjoy the neighborhood.
The house-decorating contest has expanded from along the Tamm Avenue parade route into the whole neighborhood. Residents submit photos on Dogtown United’s Facebook page with the hashtag #Dogtown2021. Vote with your “like” thumb, and the top three vote-getters will win a gift bag.
“For last year’s St. Patrick’s Day, we were very excited to add a new component to the festival, a family zone,” says Acevedo. “That’s something we’d always wanted to do, find ways for families to have a place in the festival. Part of our vision for that area was to have interactive photo ops.”
Luckily, that idea translated nicely into our socially distant new normal. All month long, four free-standing murals from Painted Black STL dot the neighborhood. Snap the fam at all four, by artists Eugenia Alexander, Jess Donovan, Tyler Harris, and Kyla Hawkins at St. James the Greater School, Dogtown Veterans Memorial Park at Clayton and Tamm, Wilkinson Early Childhood Center, and Dewey International Studies School.
The neighborhood’s businesses have taken a real hit, losing one of the biggest days for visitors two years in a row. To help with that, there’s Discover Dogtown, a new business directory and coupon booklet, with more than $100 in discounts to local establishments. For $15, enjoy scrumptious special offers at Sweet Em’s Coffee & Ice Cream, Alibi Cookies, HiPointe Drive-In, and many more.
