Weekend best bets: St. Paddy's Day parade, Bull City food & beer fest

RALEIGH, N.C. — St. Patrick's Day festivities start this weekend, but they're just half the fun. Read on for concerts, 5K runs, an Indian color festival and more.

St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festival - Downtown Raleigh celebrates St. Patrick's Day with a parade and festival Saturday. The parade starts at 10 a.m. and runs through downtown Raleigh. After, check out an Irish village with Celtic inspired jewelry, arts and craft and live music in City Plaza.

Glenwood South Goes Green - Lots happening in Glenwood South on Saturday. Hibernian Hospitality and Shop Local Raleigh will host a St. Patrick's Day festival in the 300 block of Glenwood Ave and 600 block of North St. Glenwood South from noon to 11 p.m. There will be lots of live music and food and drink for purchase. The festivities continue on March 17 (St. Patrick's Day) with another festival from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Tir na Nog Irish Party - Tir na nOg and London Bridge are teaming up for this party following downtown Raleigh's St. Patrick's Day parade on Saturday. The event will include live music, an Irish village in the back of the pub and lots more fun. The party starts at 11 a.m and runs until 2 a.m.

Great St. Paddy's Day Pub Crawl - Isaac Hunter's Tavern will host this pub crawl starting after the St. Patrick's Day Parade on Saturday. Arrive by 2 p.m. to join the fun.

Bowie Ball - Celebrate David Bowie Saturday night at Lincoln Theatre. In addition to great music, there will also be a costume contest and hair and makeup station. Enjoy a Bowie photo booth and check out live body painting. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door.

Holi Festival - This Indian festival of colors will be held Saturday on the lawn of Bull McCabe's Irish Pub in Durham.

Frank Gallery - The Chapel Hill gallery holds an opening reception Friday night for its March artists, which include painter and mixed media artist Linwood Hart.

Bull City Food and Beer - The Durham Performing Arts Center partners again with Tyler's Restaurant and Taproom and Sam's Quik Shop to host this fifth annual festival on Sunday. The event includes live music and unlimited samples from local food vendors and breweries.

2nd Friday Art Walk - Head to Chapel Hill and Carrboro Friday night from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. to check out local art, listen to live music and have more fun.

Martini Madness - Park West Village hosts this cocktail sampling event Saturday night.

Sola Hot Mini 5K - This fourth annual event is Saturday morning at the north Raleigh coffee shop. Proceeds go to support local veterans.

Hurricanes Homegrown Series - The Carolina Hurricanes continue this local celebration of art, food and music on Saturday when they take on the Colorado Avalanche. House of Swank is designing a T-shirt, Foothills Brewing will have beer selections and Kooley High will have live music. Check out a special food selection as well -- Foothills Pale Ale beer cheese dip with four mini country ham biscuits.

Brierdale Ale Trail 5K - Lonerider, Brierdale Shopping Center and Trali Irish Pub present this second annual event on Saturday. Lonerider is brewing a special beer exclusivity for this race.

Running Over Cancer 5K - Head to WakeMed Soccer Park on Sunday afternoon for this fifth annual run.

Carolina Ballet: Vivaldi's Four Seasons - This celebration of nature's enduring cycle has performances at Fletcher Opera Theater in Raleigh March 9 through March 26.

The Freestyle Funny Comedy Show - Goodnights Comedy Club hosts this night of laughter with Wild 'N Out comedians Sunday night.

Get the Led Out - See this band dubbed the "American Led Zeppelin" at DPAC Friday night.

Rock Roulette - This benefit for Girls Rock North Carolina is Saturday night at Motorco in Durham. Prior to the show, attendees signed up and were placed in a band. They have had seven weeks to write a song with their group while also doing fundraisers.

Dan Cummins - Dan Cummins has released two critically and commercially successful CDs, "Revenge is Near," and "Crazy with Capital F," both debuting in the top 10 of the Billboard Comedy Charts. See him on stage at Goodnights Thursday through Saturday.

St. Paul and The Broken Bones - This six-piece soul band from Alabama has performed with Elton John. See them at The Ritz in Raleigh Friday night.