Sign of the times: No St. Patrick's Day sign-changing lunch at McCormick's

For the first time in more than a decade, McCormick's Fish House & Bar, at 1659 Wazee Street, did not host its annual luncheon to celebrate the Changing of the Sign -- the ceremony held outside the bar on the Thursday before St. Patrick's Day, when Wazee at 17th Street...

By Patricia Calhoun

March 12, 2010

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

For the first time in more than a decade, McCormick's Fish House & Bar, at 1659 Wazee Street, did not host its annual luncheon to celebrate the Changing of the Sign -- the ceremony held outside the bar on the Thursday before St. Patrick's Day, when Wazee at 17th Street turns into Tooley, in honor of the late Dale Tooley, a former Denver District Attorney and mayoral candidate.

The sign changed yesterday, all right, although a little later than anticipated because of a communications snafu. And another communications snafu may explain the lack of the McCormick's luncheon. Or maybe it was just Murphy's Law (Murphy was Irish, right?) in action.

Whatever, McCormick's will still be party central this weekend, with the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade -- this one with the theme "ShamRockin'" -- winding through downtown on Saturday, and the Runnin' of the Green taking off on Sunday.

In fact, McCormick's will be ground zero for that 7K event, which starts at 10:15 a.m., and includes a band, food (brought in by Shamrock, appropriately enough) and beer (35 kegs of Killian's) to keep the crowds entertained.

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.

Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

Contact: Patricia Calhoun

Follow:

Facebook: patricia.calhoun.927