- Date
- 2007-03-17
- Kind
- Celebration
- Where
- The Shamrock
- Followed by
- St. Patrick's Day on Beaver Island, 2008
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- celebrationcommunityheritageirish-arranmore
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
The Beaver Beacon’s April 2007 issue reports, under “Fish in the Air—and other Signs of Spring,” that 200 “Men and Women in Green” gathered in front of the Shamrock for an obstacle race, tug o’war, and fish toss on a cold but sunny St. Patrick’s Day, describing hundreds of Islanders and visitors taking part.
Program
An obstacle race combining four-person skis, a motorless go-cart leg, “Round the Rosebush,” an ice dip for a green quarter, and a “Here, take my grapefruit. Please.” event, with the winners’ whiskey-bottle prize passed to the second-place finishers because the winning team was underage; a tug o’war between “fish-chokers” and “hayseeders”; and a fish toss whose judging was complicated by the fish coming apart mid-throw.
Evidence limits
The report is a contemporary illustrated account, not an attendance count or financial record. The February 2007 issue of the same volume also contains a serialized comic short story that stages a fictional St. Patrick’s Day military quarantine of Beaver Island; that piece is fiction (explicitly “to be continued…”) and is excluded from this article’s evidentiary basis. The February 2007 lodging advertisement’s slogan is promotional copy, not a program account.
Open questions
- Who organized the 2007 obstacle race and fish toss — no sponsoring individual or organization is named in the source?
See also
Sources
- Beaver Beacon, April 2007, "Fish in the Air—and other Signs of Spring."Reports: "On a chilly but sunny 30° day, 200 'Men and Women in Green' gathered in front of the Shamrock on Main Street to greet friends, drink green beer, and watch the latest version of the traditional obstacle race unfold." Describes an obstacle race (four-person skis, a motorless go-cart leg, "Round the Rosebush," an ice dip for a green quarter, and a "Here, take my grapefruit. Please." event, with the whiskey-bottle prize going to the second-place finishers because the winners were underage), a tug o'war between "fish-chokers" and "hayseeders," and a contested fish toss. Concludes: "St. Pat's gave literally hundreds of Islanders and visitors a chance to unwind." A nearby photograph shows a parade with a green rickshaw and kilted dancer, captioned as a St. Patrick's Day scene. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2007-04_Beaver-Beacon
- The held forty-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 2007-04_Beaver-Beacon
- Beaver Beacon, February 2007, "Beaver Island does St. Patrick's Day Right" (advertisement) and calendar notice.A lodging advertisement using the slogan "Beaver Island does St. Patrick's Day Right" and a calendar entry for "St. Patrick's Day - March 17th." The same issue also carries a serialized comic short story ("to be continued...") set against a fictional St. Patrick's Day military quarantine of the Island; that story is fiction, not a factual account of the 2007 celebration, and is not used as evidence here. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2007-02_Beaver-Beacon
- The held forty-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 2007-02_Beaver-Beacon
- Participants report the realized Saturday contests, music, bagpipes, King and Queen contest, Paddy’s Feud, fish stomp, and fish toss, and thank organizers and performers. This is participant and organizer follow-up; the Beacon remains stronger for its attendance and detailed event account.forum · www.beaverislandforum.com · 00 · t000839
Added 3 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “St. Patrick's Day on Beaver Island, 2007”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-st-patricks-day-2007/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, April 2007, "Fish in the Air—and other Signs of Spring." (and 4 further sources listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-03. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.
BibTeX for “St. Patrick's Day on Beaver Island, 2007”RIS for “St. Patrick's Day on Beaver Island, 2007”