We don't want to speak too soon, but it looks like spring may finally have arrived. After the long winter we've had, we deserve some great weather, so let's hope it continues. Shanghai's social calendar is dominated by St Patrick's Day, but there's plenty of other stuff happening.

What's On…

1) Saint Patrick's Day
March 17th is St Patrick's Day, and pretty much every bar and restaurant in town is going green to celebrate the hero who banished "snakes" from the Emerald Isle and brought about Christianity.

Celebrations kick off on Friday night with drinks deals at Malone's (pints of Guinness 50 RMB, bottles of Guinness 30 RMB, Jameson or Baileys 30 RMB, and pints of Murphy's 45 RMB) and the Waldorf Astoria's Long Bar, which is offering Irish whisky and beer paired with Irish oysters.

Both deals continue on St. Paddy's day itself, while O'Malley's gets a visit from Boxty-Rebellion, a traditional Irish band. There's more fun to be had at Mural, where the drinks will be green all night. Southern Belle is offering specials on Irish beef stew and soda bread (50 RMB), pint of Guinness (50 RMB), Jameson's Irish whisky (30 RMB single, 45 RMB double) and Bailey's Irish cream (30 RMB). If you're keen to watch Ireland play England in the Five Nations rugby tournament at midnight, head to Bulldog where green beer will be 30 RMB a pint, and Irish car bomb shots go for 50 RMB.

The official St. Patrick's Day parade is happening in Huaihai Park with marching bands, pipers, Irish dancers, and Gaelic football matches. There will also be live traditional music and singing performed by musicians from Ireland, food and drinks, and children of the Irish community in Shanghai singing in Gaelic.

If you fancy something a little more upmarket than the customary knees-up, try the St. Patrick's Day Ball at Shangri-La Hotel. For 1,300 RMB you get dinner, drinks and entertainment, and part of the ticket price goes to charity. For more info on St. Patrick's events click here.

2) Sex toy fair
For something totally different but just as entertaining, check out the Shanghai sex toy fair. Officially known as the China Adult Care Expo, this homage to all things naughty is happening from the 16th to 18th March. With costumes, sex toys, marital aids and more, it's definitely worth a look. The expo runs from 10:00 to 17:30 each day at the Shanghai International Exhibition Center, and tickets are 50 RMB.

3) Music events
In other nightlife news, German electronic music master Paul Kalkbrenner is coming to town again for a gig at MAO Livehouse on March 16th. Tickets are 250 RMB in advance and 300 RMB on the door, and Kalkbrenner will be playing tracks from his third album "Self".

A quick heads up for rock music fans: the Midi Festival is coming to town on April 21st and 22nd, taking place at Century Park again. There'll be two stages (rock and electronic), and the line-up includes Chinese bands Muma & Third Party, Twisted Machine, and Brain Failure, as well as Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg (USA), Nasser (France), The Kandidate (Denmark), La Souris Deglinguee (France), Scarred by Beauty (Denmark), Backyard Surgeons (Australia), Little Fish (UK), Monstereo (Norway). More info to follow…

Closing…

News of Avalon's closure will come as a disappointment for fans of Howard Quan's Changle Lu fine dining venue. Despite denials for a while now, the restaurant is finally closing its doors after nearly two years.

Opening…

Moving straight into the space vacated by Avalon, Mike Solovey from Boxing Cat is opening an Eastern European restaurant called Bloc at the end of April. He's teaming up with Shahla Salih from Urban Thai, and the menu will include Eastern Bloc classics like pirogis, cabbage and borscht – plus plenty of vodka.

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Keywords: Shanghai watchdog Saint Patrick’s Day Shanghai new openings Shanghai 2012 March 2012 Shanghai events