Revelers Ready to Roll for Safe St. Paddy’s Day Party

Instead of saying “Erin Go Bragh” (Ireland Forever) on St. Patrick’s Day, the Colbert family of Brentwood says “Erin Go Greyhound.”

The Colberts and 100 of their closest friends will bus to a Westside pub and then a dance hall Friday night, ensuring a festive but safe St. Patrick’s celebration.

It is the eighth annual “Bar on Wheels” organized by Tom Colbert, one of Edward and Teddy Colbert’s seven children.

Blessing of Buses

The party begins at the Colbert house at 6 p.m. when two buses pick up six of the Colbert children, Tom, Chris, Pete, Beth, Jeanine, and daughter Teddy (Paul couldn’t make it this year) and 94 other revelers. Everyone pays $20 to cover the bus reservations, the drivers and a police escort.

Any profit the family makes is donated to the American Red Cross. After a priest blesses the buses, they roll to Westwood and discharge the party-goers at Yesterdays restaurant on Westwood Boulevard. Beer and snack foods will be served on the bus.

“It’s a fun, safe way to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day,” said mother Teddy, who will miss this year’s party to baby-sit a grandchild.

At 9 p.m., the crowd will leave Yesterdays, board the buses and head to the Screaming Clam, a dance club on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. The party, including plenty of dancing, then rages until midnight.

“It’s not a raucous thing,” said Pete Colbert. “That’s why we finish the night with dancing, so we can work it (alcohol) off.”

Tom has been celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in grand fashion since his days at Loyola High School because his birthday falls on the feast day of Ireland’s patron saint, March 17.

After dancing, the group treks back to the Colbert house and enjoys “a mean chili” made by mother Teddy. No one goes home drunk or hungry, Peter said.

Chili on St. Patrick’s Day? Well, the Colberts aren’t 100% Irish, but Teddy the chili maker assures that the Colberts “have Irish blood, and it always rises to the top around this time of year.”