Free Admission at Desilu Playhouse

The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center is joining the Jamestown, New York community this weekend in the “Wearing of the Green” celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.

The Desilu Playhouse, Jamestown’s newest Lucy-Desi attraction, will offer free admission on Saturday, March 18, and the Lucy-Desi Center will be part of the Downtown Jamestown Development Corporation’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The parade will begin at 1 p.m. in Baker Park on Fourth Street, heading down Main right past the Playhouse, and culminating in Brooklyn Square with the Jamestown Leprechaun’s turning the Chadakoin River green.

Center Events Coordinator Libby Nord said excitement is building for Lucy-Desi’s participation in Saturday’s activities. “St. Patrick’s Day is all about having a good time,” Ms. Nord noted. “It’s a great fit for all of us in Lucille Ball’s hometown!”

The Desilu Playhouse, at 2 West Second Street, will offer free admission from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Named after the studio where “I Love Lucy” was filmed, the Playhouse opened last August and is the permanent home of the 50th Anniversary Tour that traveled the country in 2001-2002 to celebrate the most popular sitcom ever on television. It features exact replicas of “I Love Lucy” studio sets - TV’s most famous apartment and the Hollywood hotel where Lucy pantomimed with Harpo Marx and set her nose on fire with William Holden - plus “Vitameatavegamin,” screenings, a gift shop, and much more.

Other “Wearing of the Green” events include a Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner and entertainment at the Holiday Inn on Saturday night. The O’Sullivan School of Irish Dance, the Molly O’Muir Band and the world famous Glengarry Bhoys are all “on tap” for the evening. For further information and reservations, call the Downtown Jamestown Development Corporation at (716) 664-2477.

For more information about the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center, call or visit the Lucy-Desi Gift Shop, 300 N. Main Street, Jamestown, NY 14701, (716) 484-0800 (toll-free: 1-877-LUCY-FAN) or online at www.lucy-desi.com. Hours for the Lucy-Desi Museum at 212 Pine, the Desilu Playhouse at 2 W. 3rd Street, and the Lucy-Desi Center Gift Shop are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1-5 p.m. on Sundays.