Where The Money Goes, Part 1

Every year through our grant program we give away a bunch of money here at Irish Fest HQ to deserving individuals and organizations who ask for it. Well, they have to do slightly more than just ask for it. But if they meet our standards and qualifications, we love to be a small part of making their Irish dreams come true. Periodically we'll share some of those stories with you here.

One of this year's grant recipients is Mark Franzke. Mark is–and here's your word of the day–a luthier, meaning he makes stringed instruments. More specifically Mark makes (and plays) mandolins. Incredibly beautiful, high-end, masterpiece mandolins. Mark asked us for a grant last year to build us an Irish mandolin and we were thrilled to accommodate him. When completed, the hand made mandolin will feature Celtic designs in mother-of-pearl on the neck and will be a true work of the luthier's art. It might also be yours. The plan at this point is to auction the instrument to establish a scholarship fund. But more on that later.

Mark, because he correctly figured we might be curious about such things, has also set up a blog where we can watch his progress and it's fascinating stuff. From the first selectiion of the perfect block of wood to the final tuning we can see our baby get born, right here on the interwebs. Check it out at franzkemandolins.blogspot.com, and check back often. And if you'd like Mark to build one for you, I'm sure you could talk him into it.