Festival Focus 2022
By John O’Brien, Jr @JobJr
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
35th Dublin Irish Fest
August 5-7
Featuring: Gaelic Storm, Natalie MacMaster & Donnell, Leahy, We Banjo 3, Dervish, Red Hot Chili 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.
View the complete entertainment lineup.
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 & 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).
One-day tickets may be purchased for $15 at the Dublin Community Recreation Center (DCRC) and select Giant Eagle locations starting mid-July. For guests who want an exclusive experience, there are a limited number of VIP Experience tickets left.
On Sunday, 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.
The festival’s mobile app will further enhance the guest experience before, during and after the event, providing immediate access to frequently requested services such as food vendors, restrooms, merchandise, marketplace vendors, and more. Guests can create and share individualized schedules and create schedule reminders, so they don’t miss their favorite band or 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.
21st Annual 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.
