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Leonard Ncube in Victoria Falls
VICTORIA Falls is expected to turn green tomorrow as Irish nationals dress in their traditional colours to celebrate St Patrick’s Day, which attracts hundreds of visitors in their country.

One of the leading cafes in Victoria Falls, Lookout Café will host a dinner show in honour of the day as a way of marketing Victoria Falls’ eateries.

This is the first time the day, borrowed from Ireland where it attracts thousands of tourists, is being observed in Zimbabwe and Victoria Falls to be specific.

Scores of Irish nationals living in Zimbabwe and probably some from neighbouring countries will gather for the event at the riverside café and the event looks set to attract dozens of people to sample cuisine, dance and food with an Irish taste.

Gail Webster, Lookout Café manager, confirmed the occasion, which is expected to put Victoria Falls on the world map.

“St Patrick is the beloved patron saint of Ireland who is believed to have died in 460AD. St Patrick used the three-leaved shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish pagans. Being Irish, their traditional colour is green,” said Webster.

Lookout Café is run by Wild Horizons, one of the leading tour operators in Victoria Falls who last week donated a bus to Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.

According to the organisers’ website, food and drinks will be offered at 20 percent discount.

There will be a variety of activities to entertain guests for two hours in the evening.

In Ireland, St Patrick’s Day activities are always held on a Saturday before the actual day and officially kick off with the annual Painting of the Shamrock that takes place at the centre of the city, 9th Street and Phillips Avenue.

The 2017 parade is an exception to the rule and will be held the day following St Patrick’s Day — Saturday, March 18.

The first St Patrick’s Day Parade was held in downtown Sioux Falls in 1980.

@ncubeleon