“We come to this place in particular because it’s full of culture. It’s a Sacramento tradition.”

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Crowds dressed in green packed the Old Sacramento Waterfront on Saturday as visitors gathered early to celebrate the Saint Patrick’s Day weekend.

People traveled from nearby communities, including Wilton and Yuba City, to take part in the festivities. Some said they chose to celebrate locally instead of traveling to larger St. Patrick’s Day destinations like Chicago or New Orleans, preferring to support businesses in the area.

Inside O’Mally’s Irish Pub, staff expect thousands of visitors over the extended holiday weekend.

“The whole weekend from Friday to Tuesday, is my one whole day of Saint Patrick’s Day celebration,” said Cooper Zamora, the pub’s assistant manager.

Zamora said the pub has been part of Old Sacramento for 29 years and has become a tradition for many families returning each year.

“People coming in, coming to the place where their grandparents have been, their aunts and uncles and fathers and mothers have been. It’s kind of a memory for them. It builds on the community and everything else,” Zamora said. “I’ve been here since 10:30 this morning. I’ve seen probably 1000 people plus.”

Visitors packed bars and restaurants throughout the district, enjoying classic holiday staples such as green beer and corned beef and cabbage, which some businesses offer year-round.

Julia Danner, who was visiting Sacramento for the celebration, said the location itself draws people in.

“We come to this place in particular because it’s full of culture. It’s a Sacramento tradition.” Danner said. “It’s St. Party’s Day, and we just love it here. We have to represent Sacramento.”

Crowds also made their way to Finnegan’s Irish Pub, where staff say the holiday brings a major boost to businesses across Old Sacramento.

“We really love it, and it really helps the business. It helps us as bartenders, and it really helps support old Sacramento in general in this area,” said bartender Lenny Marandino. “There’s a lot of great businesses around here. So just getting the people out and down here helps every single one of the shops.”

Some visitors said events like this are important for small businesses that may not have the same marketing reach as larger chains.

“That’s why Saint Patrick’s Day is a very important event right now, because it brings us to places that we’ve never seen before and promotes small businesses that maybe don’t have the marketing that most of these box stores have,” said Phillip Mosley, who traveled from Yuba City.

Others said the celebration is simply an opportunity to spend time with friends and family.

“Any time you know you can use your friends and family to get together, it’s fantastic. I love it, especially when it’s like this. You can’t beat it,” said Andrew Sanchez, visiting from Wilton.

Businesses in Old Sacramento said additional security is typically in place during busy weekends like this. In addition to those measures, some establishments also have their own security staff and employees monitoring crowds inside their venues.

Watch more from ABC10: St. Patrick’s Day parade visits Old Sacramento Waterfront

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