Town Focus: Day 1 in Rockville Centre

This St. Patrick’s Day, Newsday is kicking off its five-day Town Focus series in the village of Rockville Centre.

Throughout the week, I’ll be getting to know the people and places that define Rockville Centre, which is home to more than 24,000 people, the headquarters of the Diocese of Rockville Centre and one of the Long Island’s largest St. Patrick’s parades. More on that later.

I started the morning off at Rockville Centre Lanes, where the owners of the bowling alley have teamed up with the Rockville Centre Youth Council to create a special place for the community’s teens to socialize. Look for the story later this week.

I also met with Rockville Centre Village Mayor Francis X. Murray to learn more about the village, including some of the issues he discussed in his recent “State of the Village” address.

Oh, and since it is St. Patrick’s Day, I'm hitting some of Rockville Centre’s various bars and restaurants in the bustling downtown area -- it has quite a few Irish pubs -- to see how residents and visitors are celebrating.

Many people are looking forward to the village's 18th annual Rockville Centre St. Patrick’s Day parade, which takes place this Saturday.

As I continue to explore the community throughout the week, I welcome your feedback. Have suggestions of places I should visit or people I should get to know? Or maybe there’s something about Rockville Centre you’ve always wanted to know that I can you help you discover. Send your input to tara.conry@newsday.com or tweet at @TaraKConry.

I’ll also be chronicling all my adventures via Instagram and Twitter, so follow along on social media or at newsday.com.

Sláinte!