Punta Gorda St. Patrick's Day festivities face cold, gas line setback

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (WINK)—St. Patrick's Day celebrations in downtown Punta Gorda faced challenges after a cold start and an overnight gas line break left some festivities off to a slow start.

Hundreds of people braved the cold despite many businesses being unable to operate at full capacity after the gas line break. The gas line was later restored, and people had lots of fun.

A day that's usually packed early started off a little quieter in downtown Punta Gorda. Some people held off heading out, bundling up against the chill.

"Usually it's quite a bit warmer, you know, but this is nice because you can layer and then you know take off your clothes as you dance," Lynn Snyder of Punta Gorda said.

Cindey and Julie, who were visiting, said the weather wasn't too bad compared to where they came from.

"She's from Wisconsin and they just had a blizzard so hey this is nice, summer for us," they said.

Others showed up only to find fewer options than expected.

"It was a big economic downer for these here," Tim Calvin, a snowbird, said.

The city says a construction crew hit a private gas line overnight, cutting service to dozens of businesses during one of the busiest days of the year. Without gas, some kitchens couldn't keep up.

"We scrambled to figure out what we could do to recoup something of today," Lee Richardson, owner of Leroy Southern Kitchen and Bar, said.

For customers, that meant longer waits and fewer places to go. But at the Celtic Ray, people still lined up to celebrate.

"We are still gonna do it, we got off to a slow start but we are gonna go with a good finish," Max Doyle, co-owner of Celtic Ray, said.

Despite the obstacles many faced, everyone still seemed to have a happy St. Patrick's Day.