in f o c u s by Sarah Robinson
Festival Refresh Dublin Irish Days take the fest downtown
The city of Dublin wanted to make sure there would be an in-person aspect to the Dublin Irish Festival this year, even among the uncertainties of 2021 summer activities. And so, enter Dublin Irish Days. “We wanted to make sure we could provide some form of an experience for visitors and residents to enjoy,” says Shirley Blaine, public information officer for the city of Dublin. “One of the things about the Irish Festival is our volunteers and our committee members are such a family. It was really hard not to be together last year,” says Alison LeRoy, director of events for the city of Dublin. “This way, we know that we can all get together safely and still be able to bring something fun and have that same spirit.” The plans for Dublin Irish Days are constantly evolving and adapting to guidelines
Dublin Irish Days, presented by the Dublin Irish Festival, Aug. 5-8 For the most up-to-date info, visit dublinirishfestival.org With an innovative format, Dublin Irish Days will celebrate the traditions of the festival, while prioritizing the health and safety of participants. Incorporating both ticketed and free experiences, Dublin Irish Days will be a hybrid event that offers both in-person and virtual experiences. Tickets will be available only online prior to the event and will be limited. 16 • June/July 2021
The Dublin Irish Festival has more than 1,200 volunteers every year
and safety measures as COVID-19 protocols are updated. All plans being made are consistent with the COVID-19 guidelines in place as of the end of April, when the interview for this story took place. “What we wanted to do is make sure that we had an event that we could plan, hoping that the regulations don’t get stricter, but that we could do now even with the current guidelines,” says LeRoy. To kick off the Irish Days on Aug. 5, runners will take to the streets for the annual Dublin Irish Festival 5K on its usual course throughout historic Dublin, starting and ending on South High Street. After the run, folks can head downtown to participate in the annual Dub Crawl that evening. Then, instead of all the festival hubbub and hoopla taking place solely in the traditional Coffman Park expanse, the Irish Days events and activities will be all over the (Dublin) map. “For the first time, we’re bringing the Irish Festival into downtown Dublin,” LeRoy says. “In the last two years, downtown Dublin has really grown a lot and it’s going to be a fun hybrid to actually be
able to take it downtown and get those businesses involved.” Festival goers can expect to see some of their favorite bands and artists play mini concerts downtown, eat and drink Irish foods at their favorite local restaurants, and, of course, watch the Irish dancers perform. “We’re definitely going to have dancers in a lot of different places,” says LeRoy. “The dance schools and the kids really look forward to it and we want to make sure that we provide them an outlet to be able to get out and perform for the public.” The festivities will extend not just to historic Dublin but across the river and into Bridge Park. Fest favorite tents like the Wee Folk Pavilion and Irish goods vendors will still have a place to set up shop this year, too. The Wee Folk Pavilion will be located at Riverside Crossing Park, and the vendors selling goods like soap, jewelry, Irish garb, hand-carved wood signs, leather goods and more will be at the Darby Street Marketplace in the parking lot beside the library. “We’re going to turn that into a little version of the Irish Festival marketplace www.dublinlifemagazine.com
