Whether you’re Irish or you’ve kissed the Blarney Stone or you’ve just got a taste for green beer, downtown Suffolk is the place to be on Saturday, during the city’s second annual Shamrock Stroll, sponsored by the Downtown Suffolk Hospitality Association.

The event includes live entertainment, refreshments, discounts and deals, as well as Irish food and beverages. There will be discounts for wearing green and plenty of good reasons to take a walk around the city’s historic downtown core, and if the weather holds the springtime surge that began this weekend, it will be a great opportunity to shake off the winter blahs.

The sponsoring organization also will hold a Facebook-based photography contest to help spread the news and increase the fun. Participants have a chance to win a Visit Suffolk Prize Pack that includes souvenirs and gift certificates from some of the 15 participating businesses.

To make a good day even better, Saturday kicks off the Spring Restaurant Week in Suffolk, and many of the downtown area’s restaurants will be participating in that culinary event.
During Restaurant Week, eateries around the city will offer three-course, fixed-price menus at deluxe or premier levels. Deluxe meals will be offered for $10 for lunch and $20 for dinner, while premier meals will cost just $15 for lunch or $30 for dinner. Patrons can order from a broad array of items on the special Restaurant Week menus at participating eateries.

Restaurant Week gives folks in Suffolk the chance to try out new dishes or entirely new restaurants. Similarly, the Shamrock Stroll will give folks a good reason to head downtown and check out some businesses they might not have had a chance to visit in a while.

With some of Hampton Roads’ best restaurants and a few of its hippest shops and galleries, downtown Suffolk is a great destination. We expect that, after Saturday’s events, many more people from the area will discover all that it has to offer.