4 minute read
Halfway to St. Patrick's Day
& Country Music Jamboree
Two Great Events One Awesome Venue
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by James Coulter
Do you want to celebrate the Luck of the Irish without having to wait until St. Patrick’s Day? Can’t wait until March to guzzle some Irish whiskey or eat corned beef and hash? Well, wait no longer. Balmoral Resort Florida will celebrate Paddy’s Day early with its upcoming Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day Party.
On Sat., Sept. 18, Balmoral Resort will be commemorating the halfway point to Mar. 17 next year with an early St. Patrick’s Day celebration filled with good old-fashioned Irish fun. The festivities will kick off around 10 a.m. on their Feltrim Sports Village Complex with Irish hurling and football through the Gaelic Athletic Association. The games will be played by six teams from across the state and country, including Orlando, Tampa, and Atlanta.
The Irish frivolities will continue at 4 p.m. at the Balmoral Bar and Grill with traditional Irish dancing. Then at 6 p.m., Guinness representatives will host classes on pouring the perfect Guinness pint, along with a Zoom presentation on the making of 69 Fighting Irish whiskey. The day of Irish fun will conclude with a big music act at 7 p.m. and a band at 8 p.m.
“So we have a full day of Irish events,” said Garrett Kenny. “We had a good interest on social media. The fact that it is an outdoor event will help us at the moment with COVID, people will be able to keep their distance...So we are looking forward to a veritable day, and we are looking forward to an Irish culture day.”
If you prefer more down-home American fun, then the Country Western Jamboree will sure be a real hootenanny of a good time. The twoday event will offer excellent country music, good food, and overall good old-fashioned country hospitality.
The event will kick off on Fri., Oct. 29, with Them Sweeney Boys hosting their hilarious musical act, “Down Home Revue FullLoving Family Entertainment, with Picking and Grinning Swamp Humor” at the Balmoral Indoor Event Center. Sat., Oct. 30 will feature a great selection of country music bands playing all day long, with good Southern food served, including barbecue chicken, ribs, corn, baked beans, and specialty drinks served in Mason Jars.
“Overall, we're trying to accommodate another group of people,” Kenny said. “We know Polk County really likes country, so we
Celtic Conundrum to perform at the Halfway to St. Patrick's Day Party.
Traditional Irish dancers will perform along with Irish Hurling games at the Feltrim Sports Complex at the Halfway to St. Patrick's Day Party Sept 18th.
Them Sweeney Boys will host their hilarious musical act October 29th at the Country Music Jamboree.
kicked off the two-day event with the Country Western Jamboree. Trying to do outdoor entertainment and keep people entertained.”
Since first opening its gates in 2017, Balmoral Resort Florida in Haines City has expanded its amenities at its 115-acre vacation-home community. In 2019, they opened their Feltrim Sports Village, a 5-acre sports facility that includes a sizeable multi-purpose playing field. Last year, they opened their Balmoral Event Center, a 10,000 square venue that can accommodate 150 people.
Unfortunately, the ongoing COVID-19 crisis has slightly hindered what the resort can do with its new facilities. Currently, while their pool area can accommodate 400 people, they are only providing half-capacity at 200. However, thanks to their newly installed sound system, they can allow people to spread out more in the area, Kenny said.
“So we are looking at 200 people at 50 percent capacity at both events,” he said.
Earlier this year, they hosted their inaugural Battle of the Bands, which was attended by 11 local bands and more than 200 people. Such a great turnout showed that people were willing to venture out to outdoor events after nearly a year-long pandemic. Kenny hopes that they will experience an equally great turnout at these upcoming events.
As with many other local establishments, Balmoral Resort Florida has been suffering staffing shortages, and hiring new staff is difficult. Even then, despite these uncertain times and the uncertain circumstances surrounding them, Kenny has high hopes for the future, both for these upcoming events and also for events yet unplanned.
“Last year was quite scary. We did not know what to expect,” he said. “The world was starting to adapt to COVID-19 out there. People have become vaccinated...and we do not see business being fully restored until probably around Feb 2022. So it is tough for people. But we continue to offer people outdoor with wellspaced events, that will keep them happy. We are always looking for feedback. If there is an event that people want to see, we would certainly like to hear through social media about what that event is, and we will do our best to accommodate our audience.”
Balmoral Resort Florida is located off of Highway 27 in Haines City, at 124 Kenny Blvd, Haines City, FL 33844. For more information, visit their website at: https://www.balmoralbarandgrill.com, https://www.balmoraleventcenter. com, Facebook.com/BalmoralBarAndGrill.
