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The packed pubs and green-clad groups that filled South Murphy Avenues Irish pubs on St. Patrick's Day were a welcome boost to the struggling Sunnyvale downtown.
Now there are thoughts in the community of turning the relatively small event into a bigger celebration on a par with the Christmas tree lighting and farmers markets. And in April, the city council is going to be looking at ways to promote other community events--such as St. Patrick's Day--in Sunnyvale.
Typically, on weekdays, the three Murphy pubs--Fibbar MaGees, Murphy's Law and Scruffy Murphy's--host small groups of business people and casual visitors, but on St. Patrick's Day, they were packed with people looking to hear traditional Irish music, eat corned beef and cabbage and drink heartily.
"On St. Patrick's Day, everyone wants to be in an Irish pub, so we definitely benefit from that," said Sean O'Keeffe, owner of Scruffy Murphy's Irish Pub.
O'Keeffe and the other pub owners got unexpected help this year. The parking lot outside of Macy's was supposed to be closed by now as part of the mall development. But because of delays, it was open for visitors.
O'Keeffe said that was fortunate for them because the street has been suffering in recent years, and many owners were looking forward to St. Patrick's Day to bring in good cheer and revenue.
"St. Patrick's Day has a sizeable impact on business," he said. "It's definitely a life vest."
The draw an Irish holiday brings Irish businesses is something O'Keeffe said the downtown association could take advantage of to promote S. Murphy Avenue as a Sunnyvale destination.
The main idea involves closing the street to traffic at Washington and Evelyn avenues to allow people to wander around on the streets and sidewalks of the block without worrying about vehicle traffic. This is already done at Christmas and other times of the year.
Sunnyvale also has an advantage over cities such as Mountain View and San Jose, because popular pubs in those cities are along major traffic routes--Santa Clara and Castro streets respectively--instead of an out-of-the-way single block such as S. Murphy Avenue.
The city of Sunnyvale has also been thinking of new ways to promote community events, and a larger St. Patrick's Day in the future could be part of that.
According to Sunnyvale Communications Officer John Pilger, whose office coordinates public events, a study is in progress to explore ways the city can better promote and get involved with community events.
At an upcoming council meeting, the city hopes to look at alternative ways to get involved in community events because simple sponsorship or financial help are nearly impossible due to budget crunches. Pilger said his office used to receive $25,000 from the city budget to give to community groups as grants for events. Two and a half years ago that funding was cut when the city hit a major budget crunch.
Pilger said the city's study of the public event report should be coming sometime in April.
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