(Pictured Above: Norah Rendell (vocals, flute, whistle) and Randy Gosa (tenor banjo, guitar, mandolin) performing Oct 13 at the Gala Concert)
Free Family-friendly Irish Music & Culture Festival. (Oct 12 & 13)
FREE daytime activities including Irish dance demonstrations with audience participation, make-&-take your own pizza box Bodhran (Celtic Drum), simple Irish Knots to design & colour, make an Irish Bridget's Knot to bring good luck as well as the those on the schedule, and much much more!
In the evening we have a concert featuring local and guest Irish musicians and dancers.
The Winnipeg Irish Festival began over 27 years ago with a concert and some workshops organized by local Irish Musicians and held at the Gas Station Theatre.
It was a huge success. After that, the event was held annually at the Irish Club on Erin Street. The Artistic Director, Joe Kinsella, himself a musician from Ireland, had a vision. He wanted to bring true Irish Traditional Music to Winnipeg, both for the benefit of an audience but also as professional development for the local musicians. He arranged for some of the best traditional Irish musicians to come to Winnipeg to perform and teach over one weekend each Fall.
Today the local chapter of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann runs the festival.
For more information about the festival and workshop schedule/descriptions etc.go to www.irishfest.ca