Hate the St. Patrick's Day parade? Here's what else to do this weekend in Dallas

Erin go blech! To some people, attending the Dallas St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festival sounds about as appealing as being locked in a room with a herd of bagpipers while being forced to chow down on corned beef and cabbage. We get it. It's not for everyone. But there are plenty of other ways to enjoy a sunny Saturday in late March.

Take heed: No matter what you do, just avoid Greenville Avenue south of Park Lane. Between the parade, the festival, the concert with Third Eye Blind, the Lower Greenville block party, and St. Paddy's Dash Down Greenville, it's going to be crazy most of the day Saturday. The highway might be problematic, too, especially in the hours before the parade's step-off at 11 a.m. when about 125,000 people are trying to park and get a place in line to catch beads.

Try another of D-FW's best fests: Spring festival season is in full effect, so there are plenty of other fests this weekend, including the Cajun food fest Mudbug Bash at Main Street Garden; a celebration of Native American heritage called Santa Fe Days in Carrollton;  Cowtown Goes Green in the Fort Worth Stockyards with free admission and armadillo races; All-Con, which should have something for almost every fanboy and fangirl; Texas Pinball Festival in Frisco, which offers free play on vintage and newer pinball games with the cost of admission; Spillover music festival in Deep Ellum; and General Granbury's 38th Annual Birthday Festival. This weekend is also marks the start of the food festival season.

Get a hop on Easter: Bunnies and egg hunts cannot be contained to one weekend. Easter on the Bridge is a free family festival on the Continental Avenue Pedestrian Bridge between downtown and Trinity Groves in West Dallas. There's also Funny Bunny Festival in Lewisville and KidsFest in Garland. (Get ready for next weekend by checking out all of our Easter events here.)

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Tulip-riffic: The Dallas Arboretum's Dallas Blooms spring festival of flowers is in full bloom. Expect to see more than half a million spring flowers, including daffodils, Dutch iris and hyacinths, pansies, and violas on the sprawling grounds this year. The bulbs really enjoyed our lack of winter and took advantage of the early rains.

Oh, I wish I were...: The Oscar Meyer Weinermobile will be in Irving, Garland and Dallas through Sunday. Find out where to get your Weiner Whistle here.

Three cheers for beer: Nine Band Brewing in Allen will celebrate its first year of business with a party featuring its brews, plus a food truck, live music, pet adoptions and local actor Burton Gilliam from Blazing Saddles. You might recognize Nine Band from when it won a little thing called GuideLive's Brew Brawl, a readers' choice poll about local breweries.

Even more things to do

Park it at the park: Here are 5 fun things to do any day at Klyde Warren Park. There is something for everyone, including Fido and Rover. The ice cream sandwich food truck Coolhaus will be parked on-site most of the day Saturday, and at 8 that night, the movie Goosebumps will be shown at the park for free.

Take the kids: Our list of 10 essential things to do with kids in downtown Dallas features several places to let the little ones run free, including the reflecting pool at Sammons Park, which is in front of the Winspear Opera House, and the larger-than-life bronze cattle, horses and cowboys at Pioneer Plaza.

Patio party: Just want to bask in the warmth of the winter sun? Here are the best patios where you can soak it in -- and eat and drink.

Say cheese: Here are our favorite places to take a selfie in Dallas, including Continental Avenue Bridge pedestrian park, Deep Ellum and Fort Worth Water Gardens. Only the time and date stamp will remind you it's almost February.

Sara Frederick Burgos, Norma Cavazos and Ann Pinson contributed to this story.