28th Riverfront Irish Festival
June 10 – 12
Featuring: Marys Lane, Brigid’s Cross, The New Barleycorn, Dulahan and more. www.riverfrontirishfest.org
The Hooley @Kamms Corners
June 18
The Hooley, Irish slang for a party, is held in West Park’s Kamm’s Corners, honors the neighborhood’s roots, showcases local musical acts, and highlights neighborhood businesses. The event provides neighbors and friends the chance to celebrate community, togetherness, and vibrancy with activities geared towards people of all ages. Restaurants open their patios, families play games or create art, booths with vendors and artists line the festival, and music lifts the day.
20th Annual Penn-Mar Irish Festival
June 18
Featuring: Eileen Ivers, Across the Pond, Arise & Go, Barleyjuice, Cas Ceol, Dave Curley, Screaming Orphans, Spain Brothers, Susquehanna Pipes & Drums, McGinley School of Irish Dance, Ni Riain School of Irish Dance, and OH! Gills Irish Dancers. Plus: Irish dance groups, Irish food, a free children’s activity area, and a variety of vendors offering Irish goods including gifts, clothing, jewelry, music, books, pottery, photography, stained glass, and more.
Some festival seating is provided, but lawn chairs and blankets are welcome. Please, no pets or outside food and beverages.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. To purchase discounted advance festival tickets, or for entertainment schedule and complete details, visit PennMarIrishFestival.com. The Markets at Shrewsbury, 12025 Susquehanna Trail, Glen Rock, PA 17327 (in southern York County just north of the Maryland border, off I-83 between exits 4 and 8).
Parking and shuttle bus service will be provided at two nearby locations; please look for signs. The festival host hotel will sell out, so it’s recommended to book rooms early! Bonus: Receive two free festival tickets when you use the link for the Shrewsbury Hampton Inn by Hilton: https://group.hamptoninn.com/rsb6tk
Info: PennMarIrishFestival.com (717) 235-6611 ext. 100; [email protected]; Facebook.com/PennMarIrish;Twitter: @PennMarIrish; #PennMarIrish
Ohio Scottish Games & Celtic Festival
June 24 – 25
The Ohio Scottish Games & Celtic Festival moves to Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds this year. Bands include Seven Nations, Arise & Go, Father, Son & Friends, New Barleycorn and the Andrew McManus Trio.
Friday: open 5 PM-10 PM for a Ceilidh. Adult admission is $10.00, $5 for ages 5-17, under 5 free when purchased in advance, with access to the Entertainment Pavilion as well as retail and food vendors, Ohio’s Strongest Celt Competition, Calling of the Clans event, genealogy, whisky tasting, professional bagpipe competition, axe throwing by Class Axe and more. There will also be a harp workshop at 6 PM, followed by an open session at 7 PM.
Saturday: opens at 8 AM for the Highland Games. Adult admission is $17, $7 for ages 5-17, under 5 is free when purchased in advance. A $10 Saturday evening ticket, if purchased in advance, will grant 6pm entry. The entertainment pavilion will open mid-day through the evening.
Traditional highland athletic events such as the Caber Toss are featured. The Kilted Mile will take place at 10AM and features men’s and woman’s divisions, as well as a 12 & under 100-yard dash event.
Plus: piping, drumming, highland dance, harp & fiddle and pipe band competitions. The workshop/open session building will be open with bagpipe, snare drumming, tenor/bass drumming, highland dance and Drum Major. There will be open workshops in fiddle starting at 10 AM, followed by the fiddle competition.
Food & Retail vendors along with axe throwing will be open all day, as will the children’s games, genealogy, whisky tasting, clan tents, British cars & motorcycle exhibit and Border Collie herding demonstrations.
New in 2022 is the haggis throw and keg toss; the Ohio Stones of Strength Competition, which is open to all who’d like to enter; and we will be joined by Cleveland Society for Creative Anachronism, Barony of the Cleftlands, bringing the medieval period to life at this year’s festival. Archery, fencing, armored combat, costuming and crafts will excite and entertain our audience.
Replacing the traditional opening ceremony at noon will be a parade through the fairgrounds by all pipe bands, competitors and clans in attendance. Once the competitions have concluded, the day will be celebrated with a Tattoo, which will include the massed piped and drums at 6 PM.
For more info/schedules, go to www.ohioscottishgames.com. All proceeds to benefit the Ohio Scottish Arts School, which takes place June 28-July 3 at Baldwin Wallace University. www.ohioscottishartsschool.com
Shamrock Club of Columbus Irish Music Festival
June 25
Featuring Derek Warfield and the Young Wolfe Tones, Fialla, Dogwood Road, The Rice Brothers, Mad Maudlin, Shamrock Club Pipe & Drum, Children’s Area, Food trucks & More. 2 to 11 p.m. 60 West Castle Road, 43207, immediately south of downtown, off of High Street. Tickets/Info: www.shamrockclubofcolumbus.com, [email protected] or 614.491.4449.
35th Dublin Irish Fest
August 5-7
Seven stages set on 38 acres in Coffman Park provide the backdrop to one of the largest festivals of Irish music, entertainment and culture in the world. Gaelic Storm, Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy, We Banjo 3, Dervish, Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Skerryvore, Irish Music Masters, Slide, Socks in the Frying Pan, Scythian, Rory Makem & Dónal Clancy, Connla, Seven Nations, The Town Pants, The Byrne Brothers, The John Whelan All-Star Céilí Band, One for the Foxes, Adam Agee & Jon Sousa, just to name a few.
Tickets are on sale; festival goers can save a little green when they purchase their tickets now. Purchase a weekend pass online and save $10 or purchase a one-day ticket online and save $5. Children ages 10 and under are free. Seniors (60+), military and student guests can purchase a ticket online or at the Festival for $15 (I.D. required at the Festival). On Sunday, August 7, non-perishable food items and monetary donations for the Dublin Food Pantry will be collected at each festival admission gate. Guests arriving between 9:30-11 a.m. on Sunday will receive free admission.
For more info: DublinIrishFestival.org, and follow the Festival on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Goderich Celtic Roots Festival
August 5th – 7th, 2022
Top Celtic Artists from Ireland, Scotland, Canada and USA will perform, featuring: Cherish the Ladies, Steve Byrne and Mark Dunlop of Malinky, Kruger Brothers, RUNA, Bourque Émissaires, Beaton-Plasse, North Atlantic Drift, Emily Jean Flack, Emory Lester, Windborne and more.
Is your dream to play whistle with Joanie Madden, or Irish fiddle with Nollaig Casey, learn guitar with Fionán de Barra or mandolin with Emory Lester? Join our week-long Celtic College to classes with some of the world’s best musicians.
The Celtic College includes instrument, singing, craft art and dance classes.
The Celtic Kids Camp runs concurrently.
The festival will also be showcasing the two artists chosen during last year’s Virtual Festival as the “Robinson Emerging Artists.” They are Clíodhna Ní Aodáin of Ireland, and the Celtic trio from Japan, O’Jizo.
Lions Harbour Park on the shores of Lake Huron in Goderich, Ontario Canada. Day and weekend Festival passes available online or by calling (519) 524-8221. For more information on the 2022 Festival lineup or the Celtic College and Kids Camp, visit www.celticfestival.ca or https://www.facebook.com/goderichceltic
Lakewood Arts Festival
August 6
Lakewood Arts Festival closes Detroit Avenue, between Belle to Arthur Avenues, to bring artists of all disciplines together, along with 15,000 collectors and art lovers. The juried festival hosts over 170 regional and national artists and makers displaying paintings, prints, photography, art glass, ceramics, jewelry, sculpture, fiber and more.
Featuring: Assane M’Baye, Senegalese Drums, Chris Allen, Punchdrunk Tagalongs and more, PLUS: unique arts-based performances and activities in The Beck Center.
EAT ON THE STREET food court in front of the Lakewood Library on Detroit will offer a selection of the region’s best food trucks.
Festival proceeds fund an annual scholarship for Lakewood seniors continuing to art school. After the Festival, the Board will present $4,000 to the 2022 recipient. The event also funds grants for arts education and programming in the city. Recent awardees include H2O (Help to Others, middle-school students), The Barton Center (senior arts activities), The Beck Center for the Arts (Saturday programs) and Lakewood High School Art, Theater and Photography programs. For more info: www.lakewoodartsfest.org.
Ohio Celtic Festival
August 12-14
Featuring The New Barleycorn, Tartan Terrors, The Elders, Chelsea Celtic Orchestra, Byrne & Kelly, Plus Celtic Canines, Inflatables for the Kids, four Irish dance schools, bagpipe bands, vendors with authentic merchandise, Irish & American food, beverages, local and imported beer, whiskey tasting, wine tasting and more. Lake County Fairgrounds 1301 Mentor Avenue, Painesville Township, Ohio 44077 www.ohiocelticfestival.com
20th Kansas City Irish Fest
September 2 -4
Featuring: The Elders, Gaelic Storm, We Bajo 3, The Narrowbacks, Byrne & Kelly, Shane Hennessey, KCIF Mix Tape, Ashley Davis Band, Carswell & Hope, Seamus Kelleher, Aoife Scott, The Friel Sisters, Kian Burne, Eddie Delahunt, Bob Reeder, Ella Harp, Gerald Trimble & Jamboroque, Calvin Arsenia, Tullamore, KC St Andrew Pipe & Drum, Eileen Gannon & Eimear Arkins, Jump 2 3’s.
Fans can follow the fest on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Crown Center Square – Downtown Kansas City: A complete list of performers and other info can be found on-line at www.kcirishfest.com
31st Pittsburgh Irish Festival
September 9-11, 2022
Pittsburgh Irish Festival will be held at Carrie Blast Furnaces National Historic Landmark. “We could not be more excited to present this year’s Festival at such a historic destination,” said Mairin Petrone,Pittsburgh Irish Festival Executive Director. “The venue will provide a unique atmosphere where the region’s only remaining non-operative blast furnaces will serve as the backdrop to the vibrancy of our annual Celtic Celebration.”
The Carrie Furnace Company began operations in 1884, was acquired by Andrew Carnegie in 1898, and then purchased by J.P. Morgan in 1901, who created the U.S. Steel Corporation. It is currently owned by Allegheny County and managed by Rivers of Steel.
For more information on the Pittsburgh Irish Festival, to see photos, and watch video highlights, please visit www.pghirishfest.org. Visit www.pghirishfest.org Facebook.com/PittsburghIrishFestival Twitter: @pittsburghirish Instagram: @pghirishfest for info. Fun for the entire family.
21st Michigan Irish Music Festival
September 15 -18
MIMF returns for its 21st year at the beautiful Heritage Landing in downtown Muskegon, Michigan on the shores of Muskegon Lake. The festival kicks off with a pub party on Thursday. Multiple stages and over twenty bands are planned for the weekend, featuring traditional, rock, and contemporary Irish music from local, regional, and Ireland-based acts. |
Scythian, Old Blind Dogs, The Elders, Aoife Scott, Shane Hennessy, The Alt, Kittel & Co., Rory Makem, The Tossers, Friel Sisters, RUNA, Connla, The Irish Music All Stars, and still more to come.
Plus: Irish food at the Celtic Kitchen, wee ones’ activities, cultural workshops, dance stage, marketplace shopping, and craft beer/whiskey tastings. Thursday’s pub preview party is a great value at only $5, which features four bands on the pub stage.
For tickets and discounts (patrons save $5 p/ticket online vs. the gate price), visit www.michiganirish.org A four-day pass is also available online. Children aged 12 and under are free.