We're Number 2!

Well, if you have to come in second you don't mind nearly as much when you finish behind fine people Like The Harp and Shamrock (Bob Reeder Fan Club).

The Irish Fest gigantic birthday cake float did come in second in our division on a beautiful Saturday at the St. Patrick's Day parade but in the "we-had-a-ball" division, we were champions. Huge thanks and congratulations to the parade committee for the best event ever on a glorious day on Broadway. Today the rains come in and we all head back to work with heads full of great memories and maybe a stray drop or two of Irish whiskey still in a corner somewhere.

And of course...the 2012 Kansas City Irish Fest opens in just 165 days!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, Friends

Be careful out there today, be nice to each other and don't be an idiot. These simple rules and your family and friends should be all you need for a great holiday. And remember–The Kansas City Irish Fest: number one in your hearts, number one in the parade.

See you on Broadway.

In The Know

You may have noticed an absence of a band announcement yesterday, sharp eyed thing that you are. There are reasons for that. A. I forgot and B. Because the team behind the Irish Fest newsletter wanted to smack you right in the big Irish kisser with a bunch of them all at once here on St. Patrick's Day because A. It's St. Patrick's Day and B. They like smacking people in the kisser.

So if you've signed up for our newsletter you already know that Gaelic Storm, The Young Dubliners, The Elders, Millish, Sprag Session, Eddie Delahunt, Ashley Davis, Bob Reeder, The Driscoll Dancers and The O'Riada-McCarty-Manning Dancers were all announced as returning to KCIF, along with POgey and Goitse who I already announced. Now if you don't get the newsletter, you don't know about those other bands, and I'm certainly not going to tell you because A. I don't want to ruin the newsletter team's fun, and B. Because they'll smack me in the kisser.

So why not sign up for that newsletter? We'll never ever share, sell or abuse your email address, we promise. Use that faint wee box under the big, bold, awesome blog button on our homepage. Maybe that's why they're always going around smacking people. Box envy.

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Beat This

Irish Fest genealogy expert Barbara Scanlon sends along this note and photo, and a challenge:

"Laura Rauch has traveled from Afghanistan to enjoy the St. Patrick's day in Kansas City! Has anyone else traveled farther? She is here to celebrate her Irish heritage and have some real Kansas City steaks and some corned beef at the Scanlon's."

I guess my traveling from East 53rd Street doesn't quite match up. So glad you're here, Laura. And I guarantee we have a better St. Patrick's Day parade than anywhere in Zabol or Jowzjan does.

Where's Eddie? Where's Bob?

On St. Patrick's after the parade what you want to do is raise a glass in the air and sing all the old songs with all your old friends. You know you do. But, let's face it, your singing isn't the best. If you'd been with good St. Pat back in the day, you could have run the snakes into the sea just by launching into your rendition of "The Fields of Athenry". And St. Patrick may have followed them. So on Saturday get yourself to somewhere where a genuine professional singer has the mic and you can just...ummm...harmonize. And for Irish ballads on Irish ballad day, no better lads than Eddie Delahunt and Bob Reeder.

Here's where to find them on The Day:

Eddie:
9:00 AM - Noon: The Dubliner, 14th and Grand.
1:30 - 4:00: Mike Kelly's Westsider.
5:00 - 9:00: O'Dowd's on the Plaza.

Bob:
3:00 PM: O'Malley's in Weston
8:00 PM: O'Malley's again

The Week

Sorry for the dearth of posts this week. It's not, I promise, because I just wanted to keep young Kathleen's cute mug up here at the top a little longer. She is cute though, isn't she?

No, I've been lax because it's a busy week as we here at Irish Fest get ready to defend our Grand Prize title in the St. Patrick's Day parade on Saturday. And listen, speaking of that: if you're watching the parade and want to make sure you see our entry (and you do), don't be late. So that we can be next to our Keli (not R Kelly), this year's honorary Irishwoman of The Year, we are going to be way up at the front of the line. In fact our parade number is 1.

Our float this year? Shrouded in secrecy and blue tarps. But here's a hint: yesterday I was working on making for the float a giant sized version of a common household object that you use every day. Ponder that. And enjoy your Thursday.

Smiles All Around

It will be mighty hard for the coming weekend to top the last one. It started with great music and craic with Colin Grant and Darren McMullen of Sprag Session. There are no two better musicians who've played Irish Fest in my opinion and it was great to have the opportunity to see them play in the cozy confines of the Irish Center. More work Saturday morning on our float for the big parade on the 17th, and it's looking great. Still have some issues to work out with the pyrotechnics and the lasers, and one of the trained tigers won't behave but we'll get there. And of course we had a fantastic time marching floatless in the Brookside St. Patrick's Day Warm Up parade on Saturday under bright blue skies and temps in the 70's. A glorious day and nice to see some familiar faces in the crowd.

But we're not done yet. It's going to be a beautiful St. Patrick's Day week. Have some chocolate.

Photo of my beautiful daughter Kate at the Brookside parade by Barney Walsh, also beautiful.

Brookside Parade

Don't Forget

Don't forget: The final installment of the WinterFest series at the Irish Center starts tonight at 6:30 and features Irish Fest stars Colin Grant and Darren McMullen. Admission is $5.

Don't forget: The Kansas City Irish Fest will be marching in the Brookside St. Patrick's Day Parade tomorrow at 2:00. Wave at us, will ye?

Don't forget: AOH shrimp dinner at Redemptorist tonight.

Don't forget: Irish Fest kicks off in just 175 days!

Don't forget: Floss daily. It's an important part of your dental hygiene.

See you tonight.

Band Announcement

When we were in Ireland in November of 2010 for the North American Irish Festival Promoters conference we saw some amazing music at the nightly talent showcases. And because of that trip, you saw some amazing music here in Kansas City in 2011. And one of those bands has joined our elite "Best Of Ten Years" line up for 2012. I'm talking about the talented young members of Goitse.

If you didn't see them last year, well, I'm sorry for you. Honestly though, they kind of piss me off. To be so young and so talented...if they weren't also some of the nicest, most personable and hard working musicians we've ever hosted I might have a real problem with them.

Goitse (pronounce "gwitcha") means "come here" in the Donegal dialect of the Irish language. So I'm telling you now for Labor Day weekend: Goitse, and hear some of the best young trad players to come out of Ireland.

How It Works

Speaking of music, tomorrow we'll have the second in our series of Friday band announcements. But for now, here on Thursday, you're probably wondering how the entertainment committee goes about finding the performers who grace our Irish Fest stages every Labor Day weekend.

Well, it's very much like this:


The sharp eyed among you will recognize Irish Fest comedy stage alum Barry Murphy in the skit. Thanks to Ronan Collins for providing it.

NOT On Your I(rish)Pod This Season

When your turn comes around at the sing-song in the coming days, you might want to avoid choosing one of these rusty old ditties. Although to be honest, Danny Boy still has a special place in my heart for some reason.

Any additions to the banned song list from you?

Dance Your Afternoon Away

There are dozens of St. Patrick's Day related events in Kansas City in these couple weeks before the big day. Some of them are best ignored, like the Annual St. Pat's Day Venomous Snake Drive at St. Carbunkle's Church. Or the "Nearly New" Shrimp Dinner down at St. Salmonella's. Or the Paddy's Day Pierce-a-Palooza at Durty Needle's Tattoo Emporium.

But don't put this one in that category. This is a gem. An emerald even.

The annual St. Patrick's Day Senior Ball will once again be held at the Redemptorist (okay, okay...Christo Rey) School gym at 211 W Linwood, tomorrow, Thursday March 8th from 12:30 to 2:30 PM. All seniors are welcome and men of all ages are especially needed for this afternoon dance, put on by the seven twinkled-toed O'Neill brothers in memory of their father Pat O'Neill, Sr.

The Senior Ball features big band music, refreshments, door prizes and a veritable army of beautiful, interesting women looking for dance partners. And these ladies can dance too, since most of them have been doing so for 60 or 70 years. If you can spare an hour or two to stop by for a turn on the dance floor, I guarantee you'll be glad you did. And even if you can't shake your groove thang like an O'Neill, stop by and visit with some of less mobile of the girls. You're sure to hear some great stories and brighten someone's day...as well as your own. Admission and refreshments are free for seniors. Free parking and parking assistance will be available at the rear of the building.

Clear your calendar, put on your green tie (or green tux) and come on out.

Chieftains And Then Some

As the big Chieftains show at the Kaufmann Center (sponsored by Irish Fest, you're welcome) winds down tonight and you find yourself sitting there in the betweeded audience thinking "damn, I sure would like to hear more high quality Celtic music in the not so very distant future", take some comfort in remembering that fest favs Colin Grant and Darren McMullen will be playing at the Irish Center Friday night as the successful WinterFest series wraps up.
 Show starts at 6:30, crowd will be big so get there on time.

The Chieftains

Like many of you I'd imagine, some of my first experiences with traditional instrumental Irish music came from The Chieftains. I'd grown up hearing folks like John McCormack and Carmel Quinn on old records my parents had, and of course bands like The Clancy Brothers and The Dubliners. But the Chieftains were a revelation. And 50 years on, they still are. So it's a rare treat to have them make a stop in Kansas City as part of their 50th anniversary tour.  It's a show that you should not miss and is proudly sponsored by The Kansas City Irish Fest.

The Chieftains perform at 7:30 p.m. this Wednesday in Helzberg Hall at the new, beautiful Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are available via the Kauffman Center or by calling 816-994-7222.

That Sinking Feeling

The blockbuster exhibit of artifacts from the ill-fated ship Titanic opens in Union Station tomorrow and in honor of that event, here's a titanic bit of news.

On April 12th, the 100th anniversary of the good ship leaving Ireland bound for New York, dust off your tux and head to Union Station for "A Titanic Evening: The Irish Go First Class" where in addition to a private tour of the exhibit and a gourmet dinner you'll be treated to "Old Songs and Old Stories With Gaelic Storm." Gaelic Storm as you know appeared in the movie Titanic. If you were at the great Q and A and M (music) we did with the band here at Irish Fest last year, you'll know what to expect and you'll know that it's going to be a great time.

Get details on the event and find out how to get your tickets by calling Nancy or Renata at the Irish Center, 816-474-3848. And stop by the center to pick up a limited edition t-shirt on your way to the big exhibit.

Band Announcement!

Kids, it's Friday and it's March and it's St. Patrick's Day season and Irish Fest is just a smidge over 180 days away. Let's start filling in your line up card. That's right, band announcements begin today.

First, big picture stuff. This is our 10th year of celebrating Celtic Pride in Cowtown and so we decided that for our 10th year we would bring you "The Best of Irish Fest." We sat down a few months ago with the very impressive list of every band, solo act that has ever played the Kansas City Irish Fest since 2003. Some of those bands don't exist anymore. Some of them, and I'm not kidding, we couldn't even remember. We went through the rest and started picking out our, and hopefully your favorites. It's from that all-star roster that we've been building the 10th anniversary schedule. And now...to the first band announcement of the year.

This band will be celebrating their 10th birthday too this year and will be recording a live CD to celebrate, so they seem the perfect choice to kick off with. One of the most requested bands we've ever had, back for the Best Of, it's Pogey.

It was in our friend Brian Doherty's Auld Triangle pub in Halifax, Nova Scotia that we first met Pogey and knew they were something special. Little did we suspect that they'd become such KC favorites. They've rocked huge crowds here and used Kansas City as a launching pad to become one of the hottest bands in our business. We would be a very short "best of Irish Fest" list indeed without Pogey on it and we're thrilled to have them coming to their US home again. Look for them both Friday and Saturday nights.

And don't forget, Pogey fans: catch Colin Grant and Darren McMullin at the KC Irish Center March 9th as they close out WinterFest.

RIP

A sad farewell to a long time member of the Irish Fest family. Slán abhaile, Bull.

Weekend

Yes, I know it's Thursday, but everybody knows that Thursday is the new Friday. So the weekend is here! And so is March, which of course is the new April so that means spring (the new summer) is here, too! See how much better your day's gotten already? Add to that all the great Irish music going on in Kansas City (the new Boston) this weekend, and you've really got something cooking:

• WinterFest continues with Gerald Trimble and the Old World Celtic Sessions Group at The Irish Center on Friday night
• Eddie Delahunt at the Westsider Friday night
• Anthony Kearns at Harrah's Saturday night
• Danú at JCCC Saturday night

And of course with the coming of March we inch closer to St. Patrick's Day (the new Halloween)–on a Saturday this year. To that end, the Kansas City Irish Fest, defending grand prize winners of the KC St. Patrick's Day parade, will spend a second weekend working on another sure-to-be-award-winning float at a secure, undisclosed location. Beer, power tools, corned beef and frivolity will abound.

Grand.

So happy weekend, happy March, happy spring. Get out and enjoy it.