Naperville’s Central Park was a sea of green as community members of all ages gathered for the fifth annual Irish Fest, organized by West Suburban Irish.
“We’re here to celebrate all things Irish. We have a day and a half festival, where we have Irish music, Irish dancers, Irish goods for sale, all kinds of things on Irish culture, so we’re just here to celebrate Ireland,” said Chris O’Hara, secretary of the West Suburban Irish.
A variety of performers lined up for Irish Fest
The event kicked off Friday with a performance from the Firefighters Highland Guard of Naperville bagpipers. Then the McNulty Irish School of Dance took the stage.
They’re just two of the many performance acts lined up for the weekend.
“We have Irish dancers from three different schools this year: Bentley, McNulty, and Bailey Murray. In addition to that…we have some Irish bands,” said O’Hara. “The music itself, we’ll have some that is very traditional Irish music, but then we’ll have some that’s a little bit more upbeat, popular music like The Cranberries or U2.
While taking in the entertainment, visitors can indulge in Irish delicacies from the food trucks and vendors around the park, like Frank O’Dowd’s and Colleen Gallagher’s Irish Soda Bread.
The drinks have an Irish flair as well.
“As far as beverages go, we obviously have Irish beer, so you can get a Guinness, Harp. We’ll have just a general pilsner available, beer or wine, as well as seltzer. So lots, lots of good things to drink,” said O’Hara.
This year’s event also features a Guinness tasting and whiskey tasting at Quigley’s Pub, both of which had sold out tickets by Thursday.
O’Hara said the two-day fest has continued to grow since it first began in 2020.
“Attendance at the fest this year looks to be up. Obviously, we are still very early on. But our pre-ticket sales are up 18% year over year, so we are expecting a great year,” she said.
Family-friendly fun celebrating Irish heritage
Naperville resident Breanne Nikkel attended Irish Fest with her family, something they’ve done together over the last five years.
She said the event is one they always look forward to.
“Our family is very proud of our Irish heritage. Both sets of my grandparents came directly from Ireland, and we visited many times, so for us, celebrating our Irish heritage is something we’ve always done and something we enjoy doing,” said Nikkel.
Irish Fest returns on Saturday, Sept. 20, from noon to 10 p.m., with tickets at $15 per person. Children ages 12 and under can attend for free.
O’Hara encouraged people to come out and immerse themselves in Irish culture.
“Our goal as West Suburban Irish is really to just invite everybody, so you don’t have to be Irish to come to our fest, you just have to appreciate some Irish culture,” she said.
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