‘St. Patrick Swayze Day’: How a bar’s ‘weird’ idea became a West Nashville tradition

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — This Saturday one bar in West Nashville will celebrate the “patron saint of the bar” during the annual St. Patrick Swayze Day.

Since 2017, The Centennial in The Nations has dedicated one day in August to celebrate the life and legend of one Patrick Swayze. While Swayze may seem an unusual person for whom to dedicate a holiday, the late actor’s portrayal of Dalton is legendary among bartenders.

“Swayze’s kind of the patron saint of the bar because of ‘Road House,'” said Nate Bagby, co-owner of The Centennial.

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For six of the last seven years—the 2020 celebration was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic—the bar has held a party for Swayze, inviting the neighborhood out to join them with plenty of Patrick Swayze pomp and circumstance.

Folks come out dressed as their favorite Swayze characters, catch some (or all) of “Road House,” “Point Break,” “Dirty Dancing” or “Red Dawn,” among others, and enjoy a beer or two with friends.

“Nobody dislikes Patrick Swayze, really, so it’s a wonderful thing to come together,” Bagby said. “We put the movies on all day, we play music that’s reminiscent of his movies—’80s music and ’90s music. We’ll have some costume contests and give out a few prizes.”

The Origin of Swayze Day

Jokes about the lore of Swayze Day come from bartenders and friends alike, but the real story is simple. “It was borne out of us talking about how we would like to figure out something to be almost our tiny version of a Tomato Art Fest to get people in the neighborhood to have something fun to do,” Bagby told News 2.

It was “literally just two guys having a weird conversation,” and now it’s a West Nashville tradition.

“Not only does it work, but it’s fun,” Bagby said. “And it’s sustainable. This could go on forever. It’s not like we did something that we can’t do next year.”

The annual celebration is held the weekend of Aug. 18, the late actor’s birthday. It started much smaller, of course, but the crowd size has grown each year as more people know the lore.

“The first year was impressive, but the next year it grew again, and it grew again,” Bagby said.

Then 2020 came, and the COVID-19 pandemic stalled the celebration. The next year, however, the bar held a soft-launch return to the party, still selling merchandise but not widely advertising the celebration in an effort to stay cautious.

And ever since, it’s grown even larger. “Last year was really mind-blowing, really, so we’re hoping it’ll be great again this year,” Bagby said.

There are limited edition T-shirts and Swayze Day cups the bar serves drinks out of until they run out. There are also things like commemorative hats and koozies marking the day.

In past years, Bagby said they had games inspired by Swayze movies, but as the event has grown larger each year those were phased out.

“We started getting to where we were so crowded that we couldn’t do that,” he said of the games.

After Saturday, Bagby said he and the rest of The Centennial crew would like to see Swayze Day grow even more.

“We would like to see it grow more in the future—maybe become a parking lot party, maybe a block party, maybe bring in some outside entertainment like live music or something like that,” he said.

For this weekend, though, it’s still going to have the same neighborhood feel it always has.

“It’s kind of amazing. You know, for St. Patrick’s Day and Cinco de Mayo, does anybody really do anything? No, but everybody just shows up in a like-minded spirit. We kind of party in the name of ‘St. Patrick Swayze.’ It’s really ridiculous, but everybody has a good time,” he told News 2.

Even the costumes can get elaborate, according to Bagby.

“There have been some really amazing ‘Point Break’ costumes—there will always be a couple people who show up in a wetsuit,” he said. “Somebody showed up one year with a parachute. But I think the best was, there’s a lady that comes in—she’s one of our really good regulars—and she manufactured a costume to where she is both Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze from ‘Ghost.'”

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That costume ended up popular on Reddit , Bagby said. “That’s got to be the best one that’s shown up,” he added.

Of course, there are plenty of people who come dressed as Dalton from “Road House,” as well as multiple Bodhis from “Point Break.” No matter which Swayze character patrons come dressed as, they’re welcome to celebrate the day with friends and other Swayze fans.

“It’s crazy. We’re just a little dive bar in West Nashville, and we have a bunch of surfers in wetsuits and ’60s-era, ’50s-era ‘Dirty Dancing’ costumes. It’s weird. We like it,” Bagby said.

Luckily for Bagby, as the years pass and the bar knows how to put on the event, he and his co-owner Justin Canfield can enjoy the day like regular patrons, for the most part. It’s a testament to how the business has grown, he said.

“Justin and I don’t have to be behind the bar, in the trenches. We can be out, enjoying ourselves with the people, hanging out, sitting down at a table watching a movie or whatever,” he told News 2. “As a bartender of 30-plus years, I don’t often get to just sit out in the crowd in my own place, and it’s sort of nice that we can do that now.”

In recent years, the annual celebration has also included a 5K, the Swayze Classic Fun Run, that benefits the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN), another nod to the actor’s legacy. Swayze died from complications of pancreatic cancer in 2009.

The run, put on in conjunction with The Nations Run Club , is now one of Bagby’s favorite parts of the day, he said.

Signups for this year’s run have already closed, but those interested in signing up for next year’s Swayze Classic can always follow The Nations Run Club, Bagby said.

“Definitely check them out, because we’ll do it again next year,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll raise the number [ of signups ] next year.”

The more people who sign up for the run means a larger donation for PanCAN. Bagby told News 2, in the two years they’ve had the Swayze Classic, they’ve raised thousands of dollars for the pancreatic cancer foundation.

For those who missed the signup window for the run but still want to contribute to the PanCAN donation fund, Bagby said there will be QR codes posted around the bar to donate on Swayze Day.

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Above all, Bagby said to enjoy the day.

“If you want to grab some merch, get here early: it will sell out. If you just want to hang out and have a few drinks or not have a few drinks, and chat with your friends and watch some movies and enjoy the revelry, we’ll be open until 3 in the morning just like we would on a regular Saturday night,” he said. “Stop by whenever. Hang out as long as you want.”

Swayze Day 2024 is Saturday, Aug. 17 from open to close at The Centennial.

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