If you're in the dark about the arrangements for today's St Patrick's Day parade in Kilkenny, then you can count on still being there when the event begins.
When parade organisers everywhere else have long since repaired to the pub to reflect on the success or otherwise of their endeavours, in Kilkenny the main event of the day will only just be starting.
Kilkenny Tourism, which has taken over organisation of the event, promised something different this year and has delivered by opting for a night-time parade.
Fireworks and pyrotechnics will light up the route, and the parade will culminate in a spectacular fireworks display in the Rose Garden at Kilkenny Castle.
But it's not just the 6.45 p.m. start for the parade, for which the theme is "Light up the Night", which will make it unrecognisable compared to events of previous years.
"In the past few years the parade has unfortunately deteriorated to the stage where it was simply a stream of trucks and pipe bands," according to Kilkenny Tourism's chief executive, Fiona Breen.
This year's parade will be "much bigger and better", she promises, with 30 floats which will have an emphasis on creativity and the use of light.
People entering floats have been urged to make creative use of whatever lighting paraphernalia they have, "from your little brother's Hallowe'en sparklers to your grandmother's bicycle lamp".
One float will have a political tribunals' theme and is likely to feature some of the characters involved, although how much light it will throw on the events remains to be seen.
As in other towns and cities, the festivities will extend beyond the parade itself. In Kilkenny the party begins with a busking competition on High Street at 2 p.m. Other events include "Theatre and fun" from Barnstorm's Kilkenny Youth Theatre and a revived charity "duck derby".
Actor Pauline McLynn will officially start the parade at Granges Road. From there it goes to St Canice's Place, Dean Street, Irishtown, Parliament Street, High Street and finishes before a review stand at the Parade.