Milwaukee Irish Fest
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Milwaukee Irish Fest (locally known as Irish Fest) is a yearly ethnic festival held at the Henry Maier Festival Park, on the Lake Michigan lakefront every third weekend in August. Started in 1981, the fest traditionally runs on the third weekend in August. Irish Fest is the largest celebration of Irish music and culture in the world and is the largest of the ethnic festivals held at the Summerfest grounds, which report attendance. [1]
Festival highlights include many performances from local Milwaukee Irish Dance troupes, music from well over 100 artists, residing around the world, sung in English and Irish, stages for Céilí dancing, an area to learn Céilí dancing, celebrations of Irish sport and culture, and the Liturgy for Peace and Justice held in the Marcus Amphitheater on Sunday morning. The annual closing event is the Scattering, a gathering of many of the festivals musicians playing together in one combined session, with fifty or more musicians on the stage at one time not uncommon. Milwaukee Irish Fest is known internationally for being one of the best Irish Culture celebrations. In cases too numerous to mention, Irish people the world over will come just to see the festival from as far off as England, Scotland, Egypt, Pakistan and Ireland itself. Many of Ireland's news stations will send reporters over to cover the festival.
Irish Fest celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2005. During that year's fest the new Celtic Roots stage was added. In addition, the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, attended the festival.
