From St. Patrick to Verdi: CBC Manitoba's top 3 things to do this weekend (March 15-17)

Get your green out — it's going to be a shamrock-shaped weekend across Manitoba. Here's what to look forward to for March 15-17, as selected by our panel of CBC Manitoba on-air personalities.

Colton Hutchinson's picks: St. Patrick's Day weekend

The grass may not be green this weekend, but the spirit certainly is with St. Patrick's Day coming up on Sunday.

Whether you're celebrating personal heritage, taking in some traditional Irish fare or just looking for a party, you're in luck this weekend.

Dozens of events are happening all around the province leading up to the big day on Sunday, but we'll highlight a few of the more unique festivities.

8th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade

Let your green shine and kick off the festivities with the Irish Association of Manitoba's big St. Patrick's Day Parade on Saturday!

Starting at the association HQ at 654 Erin St. at 11 a.m., the route will travel to Portage Avenue, east to Banning Street, and back again.

March along or line up along the streets and cheer the paraders on, and make sure to meet back at the Irish Association after 2 p.m. for drinks and snacks.

The parade is going to be an awesome way to get the energy started and say "Dia dhuit" to the St. Patrick's Day weekend!

St. Patrick's Day weekend at the Assiniboine Park Zoo

The legend of St. Patrick banishing the snakes from Ireland plays into the origin of this near-ancient holiday.

Head out to the Assiniboine Park Zoo on Saturday or Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to hear the truth behind it, and learn about the snakes that call the zoo home today.

Kids' crafts and a special snake-and-shamrock face-painting session will be set up to help deck you out for the rest of the weekend.

All activities will take place at the Kinsmen Discovery Centre. Regular admission prices apply.

The People's St. Paddy's Day Fun Run-Walk

Get your green running gear ready and enjoy the ever-warming weather with one of the first fun runs of the season on Sunday morning.

Hosted by The Running Room in support of Habitat for Humanity, all ages of runners or walkers are invited to come out and get some steps in with a five-kilometre or five-mile jaunt.

Starting out at the Norwood Community Centre, a parade of costumed runners will be chasing the end of the rainbow for a great cause in Habitat for Humanity.

Five-mile events start at 9 a.m., with the 5K kickoff at 9:30 a.m. Race day registration starts at 8 a.m.

The Dust Rhinos — Celtic Rock Live at The King's Head

Closing out the big day, The Dust Rhinos will take the stage at The King's Head Pub on Sunday night. Winnipeg's Celtic-rock mainstays have a couple performances over the weekend, including a Saturday night spot at the Park Theatre.

But for St. Paddy's Day proper, it seems like the King's Head is the place to be. The second-floor stage often shakes the entire King Street brickhouse, and it might feel like the floor is about to collapse with a packed house and a rockin' band.

Who knows what special guests, instruments and shanties will appear throughout the night? The cleaning staff will certainly have an ocean of green beer to mop up by the end of the evening.

Come early, stay late and sing loud with the Dust Rhinos on St. Patrick's Day at the King's Head.

Shannah-Lee Vidal's pick: Verdi's Requiem

The Centennial Concert Hall will be the setting for some dramatic music this weekend, as the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra presents Verdi's Requiem.

While you may not recognize the name of this epic work, it's likely you are familiar with it. Parts of Verdi's Requiem have been used in movies and commercials — especially the dramatic Dies irae from the choral work.

Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi created the masterpiece to honour the passing of writer Alessandro Manzoni, someone he admired. It premiered in 1874.

Verdi is famous for operas like La Traviata, Il Trovatore and Rigoletto. His Requiem isn't an operatic work — it's a funeral mass — but there will be some parts where you will hear operatic singing.

The 90-minute performance will feature 200 people on stage, including the Canadian Mennonite University Festival Chorus and the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir.

Tickets for the WSO's performance of Verdi's Requiem start at $25, and are available through the symphony box office. The performance runs Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.

Ismaila Alfa's pick: Rayannah's album release

Winnipeg indie-electronic artist Rayannah is releasing her debut full-length album Nos Repaires or "Our Haunts" in English.

For those of you who have never seen Rayannah perform, she's an amazing bilingual singer/songwriter who works with processing pedals and a looping station.

The looping station allows her to create stunning soundscapes with her voice and her keyboard and various percussion instruments and loop them continuously so she can sing her songs over music that she created live on stage.

For this album release she will be playing with a pretty big band. She'll be joined by  members of Royal Canoe, Ponteix (out of Saskatchewan), the Dirty Catfish Brass Band and multi-instrumentalist Marjorie Fiset.

The show is happening at the West End Cultural Centre Saturday night. Tickets are $22 at the door.