DUBLIN, Ga. — Dublin businesses are gearing up to welcome crowds of visitors this weekend for the city's St. Patrick's Day celebrations.
At Williamson's Bakery, owner Perry Williamson said they're celebrating the holiday with green shamrock donuts all month long.
"What the festival does for local businesses is unbelievable. We need to hang onto the shamrock in Dublin, that's for sure," he said.
In 2022, he said one of their St. Patrick's Day weekends did better than a Christmas weekend, and he does about four times in sales on Dublin's Super Saturday than on a regular Saturday.
"The month of March here for us in Dublin. We're so blessed to have this whole festival connection with St. Patrick's and the name Dublin and Ireland," he said.
It's all hands on deck at the family bakery, as they get ready to serve tourists like Alisha Harper who said she drove about three hours from Douglasville to visit Dublin.
She comes to visit her mom during the parade weekend each year, which she said is crazy in a good way.
"Just like the community. And that you get to deck out in all green. It's always fun," Harper said.
At the boutique, Blush, owner Rachael Jarrard is planning to take her small business to the big crowds downtown.
"I have my old airstream, my old silver bullet. So I take it downtown for the St. Patrick's Arts and Crafts Show and I bring lots of pretty clothes, jewelry, all that fun stuff," Jarrard said.
She said she will bring lots of Easter dresses, since that's right around the corner, and will keep her store on Veterans Boulevard open as well, so people can find even more options.
The Dublin Visitor Center told us St. Patrick's weekend brings in visitors in the low thousands. Two hotels right by the Visitor Center told us they were completely booked for Saturday.
"People still come into our bakery, come into our town, and it's a pleasure to meet them because they're from all over," Williamson said.
While St. Patrick's Day is on Sunday this year, Dublin's big parade is this Saturday at 10:00 a.m. downtown. After that, the city will continue its St. Patrick's events all month long.