How It Works

The 30+ person committee that plans Irish Fest every year has its monthly meeting tonight. I thought you might enjoy a look inside a typical KCIF meeting...though to borrow an old saying, you're probably better off not knowing how Irish Fests and sausages are made. Suffice to say, both involve latex gloves, large piles of ground meat and yards of sheep intestines.

Even months out from Irish Fest weekend, attendance is high for these meetings. That's because our staff is dedicated, committed, enthusiastic and most of all because we meet in a brewery. Meetings start promptly 20 or 30 minutes after the scheduled start time, more or less and are called to order with a hearty “Shut the hell up!” by our executive director Keli O’Neill Wenzel. The staff is then brought up to date on all the important, far-reaching decisions that the board of directors made since the last full committee meeting. Important things like what color t-shirts we should all wear and where the Port-a-Potties go. That report is interrupted repeatedly by long rounds of applause by the committee chairs, in appreciation of our just and wise leadership. Occasionally, this is followed by an inspirational address by Irish Fest president Ed Scanlon. After Ed speaks, and after gently waking up the staff, we then move on to the real meat and intestines of the meetings, The Committee Reports.

What happens is that each committee leader - for example, the beverage committee, the entertainment committee, the public-official-bribing committee - gives a brief run down of the progress that has been made towards that area’s preparations for the Fest. The chairman of the Heritage Stage committee, for instance, might inform us of his recent signing of a professor from Downpatrick who’ll be giving a talk on the little-known history of the hula in Irish culture. Or the chairman of the Children’s Committee might outline for us the new game in that area of Irish Fest, Pin The Tail On The Bagpiper. There are lots of committees as you may imagine, each vitally important to the success of Irish Fest. Each is given ample time to make their report and each is met with the rapt attention of the other staff members, except the Port-a-Pottie committee, because who really needs to hear that? Committee reports often last several hours,and with each passing report we become increasingly grateful for the hard work our fellow Irish Festers do, and also that we meet in a brewery. At long last, the committee reports end and after another spontaneous round of applause for the leadership of the just and wise board of directors (you’d be surprised how often this happens), we usually end the meeting with a door prize give away. During this fun part of the evening, some lucky Irish Fester might have his or her name drawn to win a valuable prize, such as the right to lead the next spontaneous round of applause or to get everybody a last round of beers. Or a CD or something. After a group hug and the singing of our secret Irish Fest staff song, it's with a bittersweet smile and a tearful wave that we adjourn until our next meeting...in about 20 minutes at the pub.

So when you come to Irish Fest this summer, maybe now you’ll have a better understanding of the hard work and beer that go into putting on our little event every year. An appreciation for the talent and dedication of the hard-working men and women who labor behind the scenes week after week, month after month, ready and willing whenever they’re called on to meet in a brewery.

And maybe...just maybe at Irish Fest this year, you’ll seek out one of those heroes-for they are heroes-in a KCIF staff shirt, and join them in a round of applause for the just and wise leadership of the board of directors.