THE ESSENTIAL A&E PICKS FOR MAR 14 - 20 

• Hilary Reiter

St. Patrick's Day
March will now forever be associated with the start of the COVID pandemic—including the fact that the St. Patrick's Day events of 2020 were among the first events to be cancelled as a result. Four years on, we've now experienced a return to mostly-normalcy, including enjoying the wide variety of ways that locals can get their Irish on during this St. Patrick's Day weekend.

Chief among the local events is the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade and Siamsa ("party") on Saturday, March 16 at The Gateway mall (400 W. 200 South), sponsored by the Hibernian Society of Utah. The parade begins at 11 a.m. at the south end of the mall and continuing down Rio Grande St. The siamsa runs from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., featuring plenty of traditional Irish music acts (including Pladdohg, Murphy and the Giant, Shanahy, An Rogaire Dubh), dancers (Harp Irish Dance, Taylor Nicole Academy of Irish Dance and more), traditional Irish food, and vendor booths and entertainment for all ages. You can also head down to Zion Bank Stadium in Sandy, where the 2024 Hurling and Gaelic Football National Championships will be hosted locally, with an Irish fest on March 17. Visit irishinutah.org for additional information.

Of course, St. Patrick's Day is also often associated with the bending of the elbow, and plenty of local taverns—including Irish-themed locations like Piper Down, Flanagan's on Main, Leprechaun Pub and more—will be hosting special activities, food and entertainment for the weekend (see Back Burner, p. 20). However you choose to celebrate, do so responsibly, and with Irish spirit in your heart. (Scott Renshaw)

• Courtesy photo

Bored Teachers Comedy Tour
In a general sense, the idea of a bored teacher may seem like something of an oxymoron. After all, there are plenty of topics to teach these days, and given the current trends in terms of what's acceptable in the classroom and what's not, that alone would seem enough to keep an instructor primed and perceptive. Of course, dealing with goof-offs who are absolutely oblivious to the lessons they're supposed to learn could reduce even the most astute educator to a state of bleary-eyed indifference.

Happily then, some are sounding off, courtesy of teacher/comedians who relay their classroom catastrophes and share those insights with audiences in need of insights about what it actually takes to teach these days. Through skits and stand-up, they describe the trials and tribulations of what it takes to command a classroom, while also dealing with the pitfalls of their profession. As one of these comics says, "If you show me a teacher who loves their job all the time, all year, I'll show you someone who's doing something illegal." Hmmm. That seems a bit of an image-buster, but anyone who's ever attended a parent-teacher conference—or worse yet, has been reprimanded due to a disruptive kid—knows that most educators deserve more than the proverbial shiny red apple. No worries, though: This is one school project that earns some exceptionally high marks.

The Bored Teachers Comedy Tour comes to Delta Hall at the Eccles, at 7:30 pm on Saturday, March 16. Tickets cost $35 - $55; visit arttix.org to purchase tickets and for additional event information. (Lee Zimmerman)

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Downy Doxey-Marshall: Bloom and Laura Sharp Wilson: Gilding the Lily: A Choreography
As we see spring creeping up just around the corner—in the literal sense, if not in the Utah sense—our sensibilities start turning once again to seeing new life sprout on bare trees and peek through snow-covered landscapes. That makes it a perfect time for Finch Lane Gallery to present a joint exhibition of two local artists with themes of emerging greenery.

Downy Doxey Marshall's Bloom finds blossoms bursting out on fascinating canvases ("Weeping Cherry" is pictured). The colors range from bold slashes of red to subtle pastels, swirling into patterns that don't always appear at first glance. Like the new life of spring itself, the images take time to emerge, and feel all the more delightful for the effort.

Laura Sharp Wilson's Gilding the Lily: A Choreography employs different materials and techniques in bringing viewers closer to the natural world. The artist has identified an upbringing in rural New Jersey as an inspiration for the particular pictures of vines, trees and flowers that appear in this show, as she investigates, according to the exhibition's press release, "the distance most humans currently have from the natural world.

Both shows run at Finch Lane Gallery (54 Finch Lane) now through April 19, with a Gallery Stroll opening exhibition on Friday, March 15 from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m., as well as a closing reception during the April Gallery Stroll on April 19. The gallery is open Monday and Wednesday – Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., and Tuesday 9 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. Visit saltlakearts.org/programs/exhibitions for additional exhibition details and artist bios. (SR)