Irish Fest in Miramichi set for next week
Published Wednesday July 8th, 2009
26th annual festival runs July 16-19
MIRAMICHI - In little more than a week's time, Miramichi will once again prove why it's known as Canada's Irish Capital.
The Irish Festival in Miramichi runs from July 16-19, and organizers are ready to paint the town green for the 26th straight year.
To those who haven't been to Irish Fest, festival spokesman Barry MacKenzie said the event has two distinct personalities.
MacKenzie said the festival's ever-popular and ever-raucous pub nights, featuring the best in traditional and modern Irish music, blend together with its cultural side, which features genealogical experts, cultural workshops, and a family walking parade.
It creates an Irish Fest that everyone can enjoy, he says, even if your last name doesn't happen to begin with an 'O'' or a 'Mc.'
"It's just a really good weekend celebrating a very vibrant culture, and it's a chance for people to experience not only everything the Irish have to offer, but what the Irish on the Miramichi have to offer," MacKenzie said.
"It's a chance to learn about the traditions that our ancestors left behind, and you can see by looking around during the festival that there's a real joy about the whole thing -- and the Irish are always a very celebratory, very vibrant sort of people."
Although the majority of the festival's events are centred on the Lord Beaverbrook Arena and the NBCC Miramichi campus, the festival will kick off on the banks of the Miramichi River July 14 at 7:30 p.m. with a free concert and ecumenical service on Waterford Green, featuring local favourites Durty Nelly's and Ontario act Bang on the Ear.
Sticking with the theme of free entertainment, Irish Fest will also offer its usual cultural events for festivalgoers of all ages.
Workshops in Irish dance, fiddling, tin whistle, and children's crafts, as well as free genealogical studies provided by Kent County expert Carolyn Harris and the Miramichi branch of the New Brunswick Genealogical Society, are among the wallet-friendly options available at NBCC Miramichi during the festival.
Meanwhile, the Lord Beaverbrook Arena will be booming with the lively rhythms of Celtic music and dance all festival long, with over a dozen acts set to provide revelers with a St. Paddy's Day vibe in July.
Local favourites the Nelson Doyle Dancers, along with Lazy Jacks, Kathleen Gorey-McSorley, Jerry Roberts, The Gillis Sisters, Sons of the River, and Rob Currie and the Hard Tickets are just a few of the musicians scheduled to perform.
MacKenzie said as long as everybody at the festival is having a good time, and maybe learning a thing or two, he and the rest of the roughly 250 volunteers who work tirelessly to make the event an annual success will be happy.
"We don't really do this thing with year-to-year goals in mind, but the major goal is just to keep the festival strong and perpetuate its growth," he said.
n For a complete list of events, pricing, and more information on Irish Fest visit www.canadasirishfest.com or call the festival office at 506-778-8810.
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