Saturday, they’ll be painting the town green instead.

Festivities for the St. Patrick’s Parade and Leprechaun Games — which started as annual parade in 1988 — will begin with the parade starting at 10 a.m. Saturday in downtown Tonganoxie.

The parade will make its way west along Fourth Street and will feature various entries, including Re Elements, which does fire shows and other performances, and the Wild Women of the Frontier. A hula hoop group also will perform.

Tonganoxie’s J.W. Evans is this year’s grand leprechaun for the parade. People still can enter floats and other parade entries in the parade by signing up at 9:30 a.m. Wire Nuts, Fourth and Main streets, the starting point for the parade.

Leprechaun games will be taking place at some downtown businesses. For instance, First State Bank and Trust will have a gold nugget guessing contest, Mutual Savings will offer skee ball and T-Town Bar and Grill will have youth and adult pool tournaments. Merge plans to have face painting and the Coffee Depot will have a balloon artist. Other businesses plan to have green-themed offerings as well. Away from downtown, Free State Fitness will have a pull up contest.

The Tonganoxie Chamber of Commerce, which is sponsoring the event, will have an inflatable maze near Bichelmeyer’s Steakhouse at Fourth and Bury streets. Admission to the maze is $1.

Another game will require the chips falling where they may — literally.

A game of cow patty bingo will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday near Greenwell’s Processed Meats, 702 E. Fourth St., in the business’ parking lot.

“It goes until the cow goes,” chamber director Shelbie Kniss said about the game. Whenever the cow relieves itself, on whatever square the cow patty lands, the owner of that square wins a $250 cash prize.

People can purchase bingo squares for $5 each at Downtown Bar and Grill this week. The business also will open at 9:30 a.m. Saturday and squares can be purchased between then and 11 a.m. when the game is to begin, though Kniss said Monday there were 17 spots remaining for purchase.

H Avenue Clothing and Hair is having a St. Patrick’s T-shirt sale throughout the week and Saturday. T-shirts read “Kiss me I’m from Tonganoxie.” They’re $15 for one shirt or $25 for two.

Kniss, who took over in August as chamber director, will be looking for Irish eyes to be smiling on a bright and sunny Tonganoxie Saturday.

“I’m hoping for good weather,” she said. “And that we get a good turnout.”