Irish Festival Seattle Kicks Off With 50th Anniversary Of St. Patrick's Day Parade

Seattle Center Festál continues with Irish Festival Seattle, presented as an in-person celebration by the Irish Heritage Club, on March 12th and 13th following last year's virtual event. The free public festival takes place at the Seattle Center Armory and will include vendors with craft goods, an art exhibition, children's activities and traditional Irish food and dance.

"Through the Irish Festival, the parade and other Irish Week events, the Irish Heritage Club tries to provide a taste of what it means to be Irish," said Irish Heritage Club board member John Keane. "We hope the festival encourages people to learn more about Ireland, a country that in many ways is similar to the Pacific Northwest. It's no wonder Aer Lingus flies direct from Seattle to Dublin!"

This year's festival comes 50 years after the first city-permitted St. Patrick's Day Parade in Seattle on March 11, 1972. Deputy Mayor of Galway Martina O'Connor and Enda Kenny, former Irish Prime Minister are traveling to Seattle to attend the festival as special guests.

The Irish Festival welcomes CAVORT, a Celtic band with spirited songs and instrumentals, to the stage for the first time this year. Carrigaline, a Celtic band that performs with a traditional bagpipe-like instrument, the uilleann pipes, will perform as well. The Pride of Bothell Céili Band rounds out the music lineup with Seattle fiddler Susan Burke to perform lively jigs, reels, slides, and hornpipes. Tara Academy of Irish Dance, a local dance company, will also be performing during the festival.

Booths and vendors include Celtic Crossroads Northwest, Wandering Angus, Into Totes, Apple Cox Designs, Seattle Genealogical Society, Elfstone Celtic Jewelry, Dwiggins Illuminations, Celtic Jewelry with an Ancient Story, Make It Feision, Over the Line Art Seattle, Gently Used Irish Book Sales, Shawn O'Donnell's, and Seattle Gaels with Tacoma Rangers GAA.

"The Irish Festival gives us all a chance to celebrate Seattle's Irish community," said Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell. "One Seattle means embracing the cultural traditions and customs of the communities who call our city home, and the longstanding Irish Festival, St. Patrick's Day Parade, and St. Patrick's Day Dash are great opportunities to do so."

Seattle's Irish community connections run deep and strong with some of the 800,000 Washingtonians who claim Irish as their primary heritage. At Irish Festival Seattle, the heritage club brings together performers and artists to show what it means to be Irish.

"Festál presents a wonderful opportunity to celebrate every community that makes Seattle special," said Seattle Center Director Robert Nellams. "I'm pleased to say Seattle Center, at the heart of the city, has become a hub for cultures to come together and share their traditions with each other."

The festival also features genealogy and history seminars. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Irish state, an event that will be covered by Caron McMahon whose family was heavily impacted by the fight for Irish independence.

The Monorail will provide free rides to the Armory from Westlake Station following the St. Patrick's Day Parade between 2 and 3 p.m. on Sunday to facilitate those who want to attend the Irish Festival after the parade.

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