GloucesterTimes.com, Gloucester, MA - Celtic celebration: A look at Irish-inspired fun this weekend

Get out your green and prepare for St. Patrick's Day. Here's a look at some Irish-inspired events this weekend on Cape Ann and the North Shore.

Could it be any more convenient to have St. Patrick's Day fall on a Saturday? Credit the luck of the Irish and then take a look at who's playing where this Saturday night.

John Corcoran is back at the Bay Bridge, 29 Bridge St., Salem, to kick off the restaurant's annual all-day St. Patty's party.

Begin your celebration at breakfast - the live music starts at 9:30 a.m. when Corcoran will play Irish and American folk tunes.

Music will continue all day with more Irish tunes from The Great Rubberband. And closing out the daylong celebration will be Ol' Brown Shoe at 9:30 p.m.

Call 978-745-8881 for details. Rockafellas, 231 Essex St., Salem, is hosting an all-afternoon event with The Clovers performing at 3:30 p.

m. and Search Party taking the stage at 8 p.m.

Tom O'Brien's Irish Band will play at the Rhumb Line, 40 Railroad Ave., Gloucester, for the 15th year. The band, which goes on at 6 p.

m., will share the stage with guest vocalist Lisa Marie. Cornerhouse performs at In A Pig's Eye, 148 Derby St.

, Salem, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., and Irish group Stan and the Memories will play at The Landing, 81 Front St.

, Marblehead starting at 9 p.m. And while they don't play traditional Irish music, Salem punk rockers Zippo Raid will play a St.

Patrick's Day party at the Dodge Street Bar and Grill, 7 Dodge St., Salem starting at 9:30 p.m.

Take part in the Irish traditions of singing and storytelling on the North Shore this weekend. David O'Docherty, a native of Dublin, is hosting "Ireland in Song and Story: A St. Patrick's Day Celebration" on Saturday at 7:30 p.

m. at the Salem Athenaeum. O'Docherty, who plays the flute and the tin whistle, will perform and sing.

Joining him will be Celtic singer Michael O'Leary, fiddler Jen Strom, guitar and bouzouki player Bob Strom and singer and storyteller Ziggy Hartfelder. Admission is $10. The Athenaeum is at 337 Essex St.

, Salem. Call 978-744-2540. The One World Coffeehouse is bringing some Irish culture to Cape Ann on Saturday with another Dublin-born performer, Tom O'Carroll.

O'Carroll will share funny folklore from Ireland as well as play a variety of Irish instruments, including the tin whistle and the bodhran, an Irish drum. O'Carroll's show is at 8 p.m.

at the First Universalist Church, 59 Main St., Essex. Tickets cost $12.

Call 978-768-7056. Stop by the Ayers Ryal Side Elementary School, 40 Woodland Ave., Beverly, for a St.

Patrick's Day Party and Carnival from 10 a.m. to 2 p.

m. Play Gaelic games, take part in Celtic crafts and enjoy raffles and a silent auction, a live DJ and food. Call 978-921-8472 for more information.

Also on Saturday, the Danvers Art Association, 105 Elliott St., is holding a free St. Patty's celebration from 1:30 to 3 p.

m. with step dancers and an Irish sing-along. Get your yearly fix of corned beef and cabbage as local venues host Irish dinners on Saturday.

The Youth Group at the Holy Trinity United Methodist Church, 16 Sylvan St., Danvers is offering a dinner at 6 p.m.

for $5 per plate. And if you'd rather pass on the Irish fare, a hot dog dinner is available for $4. Call 978-777-7408.

The First Church, 40 Monument Ave., Swampscott, is also having a dinner at 6 p.m.

Tickets are $10 and proceeds benefit Hurricane Katrina victims in Biloxi, Miss. For reservations, call 781-592-6081. Local restaurants will be pairing the St.

Patrick's Day celebrations with corned beef and cabbage, too, including Rockafellas and the Bay Bridge in Salem and the Rhumb Line in Gloucester. See some traditional Irish dance or hit the dance floor yourself this weekend. Tonight from 7 to 9:30, the Danvers Art Association is hosting an Irish set dance session (it's like Celtic square dancing).

Watch or participate; lessons will be offered. The cost is $7. Or join the Peabody AOH St.

Patrick's Day celebration on Saturday from 7 p.m. to midnight at the AOH Hall on Lowell Street.

The evening includes dancing, music and food for $10. Call 978-531-7961. You've heard the music and stories and had your corned beef and cabbage, now get some visual Celtic culture by seeing Irish art.

The Celtic Corners Gallery, 196 Cabot St., Beverly, is hosting a show of Irish landscapes. Elaine Barry, Leighton O'Connor and Paula Beaulieu have captured the Emerald Isle in oil and watercolor.

These local artists will be on hand at an opening reception on Sunday from 5 to 7 p.m. Or go online and check out "The Celtic Art of Arthur W.

Ketchen," an exhibit of Celtic knots, at the Caladan Gallery, www.caladangallery.com.