St. Patrick’s Day In The Howell Area: Lots Of Ways To Celebrate

HOWELL, NJ — St. Patrick’s Day is on a Friday this year. Restaurants will be marking the day with special menus and beers - and police in area towns are increasing patrols to keep everyone safe.

A community event in Howell is happening on Saturday:

Howell's Recreation Department is inviting children to the "Scotty" the Leprechaun Scavenger Hunt on Saturday, March 18. You can sign up at this link.

Starting Saturday, decipher each clue to the location of 12 hidden leprechauns along the Route 9 businesses in Howell. Record the keyword to form a message.

Turn in your clue sheet plus a photo of the family participating to the Howell Municipal Building, 4567 Route 9, between noon and 5 p.m. Prizes are awarded to the first 50 participants, the township says.

On Friday, St. Patrick's Day, a new restaurant, The Loaded Spoon in Freehold Township, will have its official grand opening. The restaurant is at 108 Schanck Road at Renaissance Plaza, just north of Howell. There are special dishes and drinks you can enjoy all weekend. See a full story on the restaurant here and check out the menu.

For those of you who are following Lenten fasting, Catholics abstain from eating meat on Fridays during Lent, a sacrifice that recognizes Jesus’ death on the cross on a Friday.

Catholics in the area are part of the Diocese of Trenton, and have a dispensation from the bishop that will allow then to eat a traditional corned beef dinner on Friday.

The Diocese of Trenton granting the dispensation but asks that those using the dispensation transfer the Friday abstinence obligation to another day of their choosing in Lent or perform a work of charity or some exercise of piety to fulfill the spirit of the obligation, the diocese says.

St. Veronica Church in Howell will continue its Soup, Speaker, and Stations series at 5:45 p.m. March 17. Enjoy fellowship with other parishioners while enjoying delicious soup. Then stay and listen to this week’s speaker, Fr. PJ. Finish the evening with the devotion of Stations of the Cross commemorating Jesus’ last day on Earth as a man. All are welcome to attend.

To get into the St. Patrick's Day spirit, here are some other happenings to keep in mind:

• March 17, Annual Post 54 Saint Patrick's Day Corned Beef Dinner, 4 p.m., The American Legion, 62 W Main St., Freehold.
• March 17: "Shut up Gus"/ The All New McCann’s St. Patrick’s Day live music and party, 7:30 p.m., All New McCann's, 4185 Atlantic Ave., Wall.
• March 19: St. Paddy's 5 Mile Race Sun, 10:30 a.m. to noon, Michael J. Tighe Park, 65 Georgia Road, Freehold Township.

Local Editor Carly Baldwin contributed to this report.