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COLUMBIA, (WACH) - With St. Patrick's Day approaching, thousands will be hitting Five Points in Columbia for the annual festival celebrating all that's green.

For many, celebrating also means consuming alcoholic beverages.

"Certainly we know that the festival coming up this weekend is a time of high-risk drinking for individuals," said Kristy Stoneburner who works at LRADAC.

Stoneburner is one of many at LRADAC who helps educate communities about drugs and alcohol.

She says the best way to keep yourself and others out of trouble and safe during events with a lot of alcohol is to have a game plan before you take a sip.

"Cab stands will be made available at all the entry points to the festival. There will be options for people to get themselves a safe ride home," said Stoneburner.

Stoneburner says having more than five drinks during one occasion is considered "high-risk" or binge drinking.

"For the average person, the body can only really effectively process one drink of alcohol per hour," said Stoneburner.

Some factors playing into how fast your body can process alcholic beverages include: height, weight, gender, how much you have eaten and even your mood.

Stoneburner said its a good idea to space your drinks to avoid consuming too much too fast, and for every alcoholic drink, have a non-alcoholic drink.