Thunderstorms, some heavy during the morning hours, then skies turning partly cloudy during the afternoon. High around 85F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..
Tonight
A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
From left, K-State senior Leslie Reese of Killeen, Texas, K-State junior Keaton Lind of Wichita, and Kodi Ringler of Hutchinson Community College bump fists inside of O’Malley’s during Fake Patty’s Day on March 2, 2019. Dennis Cook, executive director of the Aggieville Business Association, said the event is still on for March 21 despite coronavirus concerns.
From left, K-State senior Leslie Reese of Killeen, Texas, K-State junior Keaton Lind of Wichita, and Kodi Ringler of Hutchinson Community College bump fists inside of O’Malley’s during Fake Patty’s Day on March 2, 2019. Dennis Cook, executive director of the Aggieville Business Association, said the event is still on for March 21 despite coronavirus concerns.
Note: This is the initial version, with outdated information. The event has now been canceled.
Q: I wonder... will Fake Patty’s Day be canceled due to coronavirus?
A: No. It's sort of impossible to cancel. Back to that in a minute.
First, the official comment. Dennis Cook, executive director of the Aggieville Business Association, said that the event is still on.
If you’ve just moved to town or lived under a rock for a decade, you need to know that Fake Patty’s Day is an event invented to prompt college kids to drink a bunch of booze. The thing is, the actual St. Patrick’s Day holiday often falls during K-State’s spring break, so — egads! — the bars and liquor stores might miss out on a big day of sales.
The fake event is not exclusive to Manhattan, but the one here has become one of the larger drunkfests around. Certainly, it attracts college-age kids here from around the surrounding states.
Anyway, the “event” is not an official event, and never has been. It’s just when the kids decide to show up. This particular year, the way the calendar fell, the typical day for it would have been Feb. 29, the Saturday of the week before spring break. But because that was so early, there was a general agreement — including by Aggieville business owners — that it should be actually held after spring break. So this year they’re planning all the arrangements for March 21.
The cops and the public works department could decide on that day to not show up, but ... uhhh ... the reason they're there in the first place is to try to control the rowdiness.
Cook, for his part, said that because spring break has been extended a week, he figures it will be like a slow Saturday in Aggieville anyway. So while it can't be officially canceled, it might effectively be dead.
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