Guzzle some Guinness this ‘St. Practice Day’

By Laura Davis

Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010 | 5:47 p.m.

Valentine's Day has come and gone, and the next major holiday on the calendar gets a jump-start this weekend when the luck of the Irish comes early — in the form of free alcohol.

Auld Dubliner, the Irish pub at The Village Lake Las Vegas, is playing host to Guinness weekend with three days dedicated to honoring the delicious dark beer that tastes especially so when coupled with a little (or a lot of) Jameson and Bailey's.

Friday at 8 p.m., Auld Dubliner and Guinness celebrate the 18th annual "record-breaking consumption event," or as the official Great Guinness Toast website likes to refer to it, "St. Practice Day."

Drinkers across the country, both Irish and not, are asked to raise a pint in an attempt to surpass the number of participants from the previous year. In 2009, more than 485,000 participants raised their glasses. If 2010's toasters can surpass, they'll successfully get inaugurated into another Guinness staple — the Guinness Book of World Records.

The real fun begins when they roll out a sight that makes the "World's Largest Thermometer" look downright tepid: the "World's Largest Guinness Glass," which stands a whopping eight-feet tall and would take a whole university's worth of frat boys to chug.

The consumption celebration continues throughout the rest of the weekend, and you can get your buzz on guiltlessly — it's for charity. Three Square Food Bank, in participation with Auld Dubliner, is spending Saturday and Sunday trying to fill-up the extra-large Guinness glass with boxed food donations.

The best part? There's more in it for you than just good karma. Everyone who donates receives a free pint of Guinness. Free beer plus feeling warm and fuzzy — now that's what St. Practice Day is all about.

— Originally published on LasVegasWeekly.com