by Deirdre Woodbyrne | Jul 8, 2014 | Cleveland, Event Information, In The News
NEWS RELEASE
FROM: John O’Brien, Jr. (216-647-1144 john@clevelandirish.org)
RE: 32nd Annual Cleveland Irish Cultural Festival
July 18, 19, 20, 2014 Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds, Berea, OH
Ireland is Calling You … to Cleveland. The 32nd Annual Cleveland Irish Cultural Festival takes place at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds in Berea, Ohio July 18, 19 & 20, 2014.
Over 100 singers, dancers and performers on three indoor and five outdoors stages will fill 117 acres, with entertainers from Ireland, Canada and the U.S.
The festival offers a wide range of music from traditional to Celtic rock. Headliners include Ronan Tynan, of the Irish Tenors; Black 47, on the Final Tour; Dervish, celebrating their 25th year as a band of worldwide influence; Damien Dempsey, and The StepCrew, like Riverdance, only faster! Returning favorites include The High Kings, Scythian and original Riverdance fiddler Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul.
Scythian is described as “a pair of classically trained dueling fiddlers, a rhythm guitar and the occasional funky accordion, powered with the driving rhythm of a jazz percussionist. Their high-energy, adrenaline-peddling, interactive brand of music has one goal in mind: to get people on their feet and dancing.”
All-Ireland fiddle champion Eileen Ivers brings her Immigrant Soul Band to the Festival. The New Barleycorn, Brigid’s Cross, Marys Lane, Bernadette Ruddy, Malachi Cush, James Kilbane and Lost State of Franklin will also be there.
Others on stage include Dennis Doyle, Guaranteed Irish, Dermot Henry, Fintan Stanley and The Kilroys.
Presenting the very best of Ireland doesn’t stop with the music. The festival showcases championship dancing and food, pipe bands, and award-winning drama.
New to the Festival this year is Temple Bar & Museum – Modeled after the world famous entertainment district in Dublin city centre, our Temple Bar & Museum has loads of singing, dancing, sessions and carrying on. A story, a song, a bit of the Guinness, a set dance lesson, you’ll find it all in our brand new AIR CONDITIONED Temple Bar & Museum. Paired with the internationally recognized Celtic Heritage Hall, with over 200 exhibits, workshops, step dancing lessons and instrument demonstrations.
There are fourteen breeds of dogs native to Ireland. They will all be at the fest; the popular Dogs Native to Ireland are back. Plus there are over 50 Irish vendors with everything from Aran knits to delicious Irish chocolate. Books by Irish authors are also available.
The Tir Na nOg (Land of Our Youth) children’s area features continuous activities and live performances, T-Shirt painting, inflatables and much more.
Festival proceeds benefit The Make-A-Wish Foundation, Holy Family Home and ten other local and national charities. Cleveland Irish Cultural Festival has donated more than half a million dollars to charities since its inception in 1983.
Festival hours are 5:00 to 11:00 pm Friday; 1 to 11:00 pm Saturday; and 1 to 10:00 pm Sunday. General admission is $12.00. Children under 10 are free.
For additional details see www.clevelandirish.org.
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by Deirdre Woodbyrne | Mar 26, 2014 | All Chapters, Event Information, In The News, Networking, New Orleans, News
http://www.irishnetworkneworleans.org/Default.aspx?pageId=1065837&eventId=856866&EventViewMode=EventDetails
New Orleans has been selected by the Irish Government to host the 2014 International Irish Famine Commemoration (IFC) which will honor New Orleans’ Irish and celebrate the triumph of Famine survivors in the face of tremendous adversity with several activities scheduled November 6th through November 9th. Previously selected cities include New York, Sydney, Liverpool and Toronto.
Activities during the four day event will have a distinctly New Orleans flavor as the city’s Irish and Irish American community rally for this historic remembrance. The IN-NOLA Black-Tie Gala is one of the weekend’s highlights.
Illustrating the importance of the Gala, many Irish dignitaries are expected to attend including Culture Minister Jimmy Deenihan, the Irish Ambassador to the United States, H.E. Anne Anderson, and, it is hoped, the Irish President, Michael D. Higgins.
For this special occasion IN-NOLA has secured the great (and aptly named) Celtic rock band, Black 47. Led by Irish author, and playwright, Larry Kirwan, Black 47 play a uniquely Irish form of rock ‘n’ roll that touches on many social and political issues, and yet is never less than entertaining and riveting
Tara O’Grady and her Black Velvet Band will also provide musical entertainment. Tara O’Grady is the full package, combining celtic, folk, blues, and especially jazz in her unique style. Of course, as always, the IN-NOLA gala will feature traditional Irish music and dance presented by local groups.
Currently registration for the Gala is open for IN-NOLA members and members from our sister IN-USA chapters at a discounted price until May 1st. After May 1st, Gala ticket prices will increase by $50 per ticket. These tickets will be available to both the general public and to IN-NOLA members.
The code is: IFCGALA
For more information on the event and to purchase tickets, please go to;
http://www.irishnetworkneworleans.org/Default.aspxpageId=1065837&eventId=856866&EventViewMode=EventDetails
by Deirdre Woodbyrne | Mar 22, 2014 | Event Information, In The News, News, Seattle
03/20/2014
Submitted by Taryn Kama
Tacoma’s Museum of Glass will host a Céili Mór (a large Irish Dance Party) in its grand hall to celebrate Irish culture and also its on-going exhibition of contemporary Irish glass on Sat. March 22 from 7 to 10 p.m.
The event will include traditional Irish music with performers: Liam Ó Maonlaí of Hothouse Flowers fame, and the Carrigaline Celtic Band. Full details can be found at here.
Céili dancing is a popular form of Irish folk dancing and this is a family event where children and adults learn and practice dancing to live music. Everyone will have an opportunity to get on the floor and dance without any pressure. A full bar and food service will be available. The event is open to all ages.
The Céili Mór event is part of the Irish Heritage Club of Seattle’s full slate of Irish Week festivities. However, the Irish glass exhibit, called “CAUTION! Fragile. Irish Glass: Tradition in Transition,” is in Tacoma until September 2014.
Club member and glass artist Paula Stokes was involved in this exhibition. She said it is significant because it is the first museum exhibition of contemporary Irish glass in the America.
“It marries the tradition of the past with the contemporary. It celebrates the essence of Ireland in a proud, poetic and authentic way,” Stokes said.
Irish glass artist Róisín de Buitléar helped develop the exhibition, which takes a deep look at the Irish glass industry and the impact of recent factory closures on artists, tradition and personal identity.
The collaboration with three of the best masters: Fred Curtis, Eamonn Hartley and Greg Sullivan, has resulted in an exhibition of work celebrating their skills in glass cutting and engraving. Many of the pieces in the exhibition were made at Museum of Glass and shipped to Ireland to be cut and engraved.
For centuries, the Irish have been regarded as supreme artists in crystal glass, particularly in the techniques of cutting and engraving. Apprentices, under the guidance of Master Craftsmen, began working as teenagers to learn the intricacies of the art of working with crystal and these skills have been handed down over generations.
Now, however, crystal glass manufacturing in Ireland is hanging by a thread. The famous Waterford factory, which served for decades as a symbol of Irish artistic heritage, closed in 2009 and other famous glass factories in Cavan, Galway, and Tyrone have closed, selling off equipment and putting hundreds of glassmakers out of work. Once known worldwide as the best and finest, Irish crystal glass manufacturing has faced impossible challenges partly due to economic shifts, which were beyond the control of the thousands of families intertwined in the decline of the industry.
Stokes studied in Ireland with Róisín. “Róisín was my first glassmaking teacher in Ireland. I studied art at the National College of Art in Dublin. Since I moved to Seattle in 1993 to pursue my career, we have worked together on many projects over the years to create a dialog and relationship between the glass scene in Ireland and in the Pacific Northwest.”
“Róisín’s plan to work collaboratively with Master Cutters with sensitivity, and vision resonated profoundly with me,” Stokes said.
Stokes helped her in the hotshop and, on occasion, she schlepped glass back to Ireland in her suitcase. Stokes then got together with some amazing Irish women in Seattle to help fundraise for the exhibition.
Stokes said people should see the exhibit because: “It is simply wonderful on so many levels. It celebrates contemporary Irish culture through music, art, history and storytelling. The work is poetic and resonates with authenticity and is uniquely Irish.”
A full listing of Irish Week events can be found at http://irishweek.com.
