WASECA — It’s an important celebration for the city of Waseca: The annual St. Patrick’s Day get together.
“We have a lot of Irish descendants as our ancestors,” Joe Hoehn said, “and now we get together every year at St. Patrick’s Day (to celebrate).”
Hoehn and his wife own The Mill Event Center, where the event is held. It’s a day full of celebration including a special morning mass, live music, Irish bingo and the crowning of the Irish queens.
The celebration happens each year, either on St. Patrick’s Day or on the Saturday prior. It draws hundreds from across the area to the event center, forming a sea of green on the floor of The Mill. This year marked 58 years of the Irish-American Club of Southern Minnesota celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Waseca.
“It’s like a brotherhood (and) sisterhood of people coming here and it’s good camaraderie, it’s good stewardship, and it’s a reason you always see smiles on everybody’s faces,” Hoehn said. “It’s really a goodwill for the community.”
And that camaraderie is felt by many who attend year after year.
“We come every year for St. Pats,” Sharon Mulcahey said. “(It’s important) just getting together … seeing everyone you don’t see all the time. … It’s just a good thing for all of us to get together.”
The evening ended concluded with the crowning of Bella Kelling Gerdts as the 2026 Miss Irish Rose, and Hudson Miller as the 2026 Miss St. Patrick.