If you fancy a green beer or two on Sunday, Toronto will be a hub of excitement.

But other than it just being St Patrick's Day this weekend, there is lots more going on.

PARADE

Up to 500,000 are expected to fill Toronto streets on Sunday, March 17th for the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade.

It's organized by the not-for-profit St. Patrick's Parade Society and will last about two hours.

There are over seventy colourful sections to the parade and this year's Grand Marshall is Brian Farmer of the Canadian Gaelic Athletic Association. Popular favourites the Toronto Police and Fire Department Band will, as always, have pride of place in the parade.

The parade will start at 12 noon at Bloor and St. George, travel eastward along Bloor, turn south on Yonge Street to Queen, then west to the reviewing stand at City Hall.  This year the parade theme is "The Gathering".

OTHER EVENTS

But that's not the only thing going on, Sunday. The Toronto Raptors have a home date against Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat. That's a 1 o'clock start at the ACC on Sunday.

Adding further insult to injury, Disney on Ice has two shows on Sunday at the Rogers Centre, with the first at 11 o'clock in the morning and the second at 3pm.

SUBWAY CLOSURE

Here's the kicker.  Getting around might be a bit tricky since the TTC will shut down subway service between Union and St. George stations. The closure begins at midnight on Saturday and lasts until Monday at 6 a.m.

This is for upgrades to its signals along the University portion of the Yonge-University Spadina line.

PUBS

If you're looking for a good pub though, to wet your whistle, there are lots to chose from in Toronto.

Click HERE for a list.

Bars and pubs are expecting big crowds this weekend.

At PJ O'Brien's near King and Church a few of the more than 70 kegs of Guinness on hand for the weekend stretch around the corner of a basement hallway.

"Full kegs go down into our washroom...every nook and cranny (is full), it's like an obstacle course in our basement," said manager Theresa Kinahan.

Once the doors opened on Friday Kinahan said they "hit the ground running now for the weekend. It's going to be a long weekend but it's going to be a great weekend."

"People will just be coming in and having a grand time, it's wall to wall people," said Patrick McMurray, owner of The Ceili Cottage on Queen St. "It's a special time of year where spring is on the way and everyone gets together and has a good time."

He was putting together a heated outdoor patio on Friday and that's in addition to a heated yurt that's been at his place during the winter.

He's stocked up with about triple the amount of keg beer ready for those looking to quench their thirst.

It's the same story at the Irish Embassy on Yonge St. where the first reservations for Sunday were made just after Christmas.

Partner Rory Kowdrysh says in order to be ready for the rush this weekend it's all hands on deck and some staff have even had to cancel vacations.

His backrooms are full, just waiting for big crowds.

"Every available storage space within the confines here...is packed."

Those working in bars and pubs say there should be more people filling their establishments because this year the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade actually falls on the 17th.