St. Patrick's Day!  What a merry, awesome holiday.  We all get to dress up in green, celebrate the luck of the Irish, and drink to our heart's content all in the name of this awesome holiday.  And, how convenient is this?  St. Patrick's Day falls right on a Saturday this year.  Start laying out those green clothes.  It's going to be a wild St. Patrick's Day in Tampa this year.  Here are a few events definitely worth checking out when St. Patty's rolls around.

St. Patrick's Day Parade 2012 - There's nothing like a good old parade to celebrate a great holiday.  The St. Patrick's Day Parade, hosted by the Tampa Rough Riders, is an awesome and family-friendly parade with floats, green-clad dancers and traditional Irish music in Ybor City.  Drive or ride the TECO Line Streetcar to historic 7th Avenue and watch this St. Patrick's Day Parade from 8 to 9:30 p.m.

St. Patrick's Day at MacDinton's - It's really hard to go wrong with a traditional Irish pub on St. Patrick's Day.  Head to MacDinton's in Hyde Park for a full day of Irish revelry complete with tons of beer, great drink specials, Irish food, live music and much more throughout the day.

Channelside Dying the Channel Green - The name says it all.  When St. Patrick's Day rolls around the Tampa Attractions Association will dye the Garrison Channel green right outside of Channelside.  Just like Chicago does when they dye their river green, the Tampa Attractions Associate will use a powder-based and environmentally safe green dye throughout the channel.

Yacht Starship St. Patrick's Day Cruise - And what better way to see this surreal green spectacle then to take a boat ride right through it?  Take a ride on the Yacht Starship on St. Patrick's Day and enjoy an Irish dinner buffet, green beer, and more as you glide over the green waters of the channel.