MOHAWK VALLEY IRISH CULTURAL Volume 13, Issue 3 EVENTS NEWSLETTER Mar 2016 Utica St. Patrick’s Day Parade – 192 Years of Irish Pride, Family Fun It’s a tradition unlike any in Utica’s storied history. The Utica St. Patrick’s Day parade, originated in 1824 by Utica’s first mayor and pre-eminent Irishman, John C. Devereux, once again takes to the streets on Saturday, March 12th. Presented by the Great American Irish Festival, this family-friendly event will step off at Oneida Square at 10 AM and travel north on Genesee Street, ending at Columbia Street. Many spectators find the reviewing stand area in front of the Stanley Theatre a prime location to enjoy the parade, but the fact is there is not a bad viewing spot along the route. The parade -- the culmination of a full week of Irish-centered activities in honor of National Irish Month -- will be proudly led by this year’s Grand Marshal, Christopher McGrath. Parade Committee Chairman Judy Weeks and her team have assembled an impressive array of pipe bands, marching units, floats and other unique vehicles; however, it’s not too late to get involved. The committee invites everyone in the community to showcase their civic organizations, musical groups, school groups, businesses or families in the parade. Participants are encouraged to incorporate an Irish theme into their float or entry. For more information, contact Judy at [email protected]. Robert H. Wood Great Artists Series Presents Danú…for Free! The Herkimer County College Foundation will host an evening with Danú on Friday, March 4, 2016 at 7 PM in the Sarkus-Busch Theater located in the Robert McLaughlin College Center at Herkimer College. The performance is open to the public free of charge. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Hailing from historic County Waterford, Danú is one of the leading traditional Irish ensembles of today. For over 20 years, Danú’s virtuosi players on flute, tin whistle, fiddle, button accordion, bouzouki, and vocals (Irish and English), have performed around the globe and recorded seven critically acclaimed albums. Their live DVD, One Night Stand, was filmed at Vicar St. Dublin. Winners of numerous awards from the BBC and Irish Music Magazine, Danú has toured throughout Europe and North America with stops at The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and Symphony Space in New York City. Danú takes its audiences on a musical journey to their native Ireland, offering a moving and memorable concert experience. The Robert H. Wood Great Artists Series is a result of a generous endowment made to the Herkimer County College Foundation by the late Robert H. Wood, a long-time resident of Ilion, NY. For more information call the Herkimer County College Foundation Office at 315-574-4015. Doors open at 6:30 PM. Mohawk Valley Irish Cultural Events - 1 Grand Marshal’s Reception to be held at The Stanley Theater Marking the ceremonial “passing of the Shillelagh” from the previous parade Grand Marshal to this year’s, the Grand Marshal’s Reception will be held on March 8th, 2016, in the lobby of the beautiful Stanley Theater. Last year’s Grand Marshal, Steve McMurray, will be on hand to do the honors, when – flanked by an assemblage of past Grand Marshals – he hands off the shillelagh to this year’s honoree, Christopher McGrath. The reception, which runs from 5-8 PM, costs $10, which goes to defray the costs of the parade. Food and refreshments are included, and providing traditional Irish music throughout the evening will be Craobh Dugan. The Utica St. Patrick’s Day Parade Hosts Food Drive As a way of giving back to the community, and in remembrance of one of the most horrific and defining periods in Irish history, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee is again conducting a food drive for this year’s parade. On March 12th, St. Patrick’s Day Parade attendees and marchers are asked to bring non-perishable food items to the parade, which will be collected and turned over to Mother Marianne’s West Side Kitchen at the St. Joseph-St. Patrick Parish Center. Named for Blessed Mother Marianne Cope, who grew up in West Utica and went on to devote the last 30 years of her life to the lepers of Hawaii’s Molokai, this program also claims a unique tie to the local Irish community: It is located across the street from the future Mohawk Valley Irish Cultural Center; the site of the original St. Patrick’s Church, which was built by a burgeoning Irish population who had come to America to escape the Great Hunger in the 1850s. Food drive chairperson Chris Hoke reports that last year’s drive was a huge success, resulting in over 2500 pounds of food and $1400 in cash that translated to much needed meals for several hundred of our “hungry neighbors.” Confident that Uticans will continue to open their hearts (and pantries), she has arranged for several alternative ways in which people can help. Volunteers will be lining up on the side streets with wheelbarrows to collect donations before the parade starts, flanked as always by the great folks at Adorino Construction. They will also gladly accept any cash donations that are offered in lieu of food, and volunteers will be trailing the parade with green containers for such monetary donations; all of which go to Mother Marianne’s Kitchen. If you are interested in volunteering for the Food Drive in any capacity, please contact Chris at (315) 827-4291. Gaelic Storm at State Theatre of Ithaca On Saturday, March 5, 2016, the genre-bending Gaelic Storm rolls into the State Theatre of Ithaca for a very special performance supporting their latest CD, “Matching Sweaters.” From bluegrass fans and country cowboys to Deadheads, rock & rollers and Celtic fanatics, Gaelic Storm has built one of the most diverse fan bases in modern music. With a career that began as a pub band in Santa Monica, California, through their appearance as a Third Class party band (“third class” is a location, not a rating!) and now to the present, they’ve topped the Billboard World Chart five times and regularly headline the largest Irish Festivals across the country. Oh, and there’s Kiana Weber. “Matching Sweaters,” which earned a spot on iTunes World Albums’ “Best of 2015” album list, features Patrick Murphy and Steve Twigger at their song-writing best, moving from drinking songs (“Another Stupid Drinking Song”) to energetic instrumentals (“The Narwhaling Cheesehead”) to rootsy pop/rockers (“Whiskeyed Up and Womaned Out”), gluing everything together with the spark and spirit of a band that’s spent close to 20 years on the road. And then there’s Kiana Weber. Tickets for the 8 PM show range from $20-$30, and are available on-line or by calling (607) 277-8283. The State Theater of Ithaca is located at 105 West State Street, Ithaca, NY. And of course, there’s Kiana Weber. Mohawk Valley Irish Cultural Events - 2 31st Annual “North Country Goes Green” Festival From March 11-13, Watertown plays host to their 31st annual “North Country Goes Green” Irish Festival, at the Dulles State Office Building. The festival, promising three days of constant musical entertainment, features a lineup that includes the Prodigals, BarleyJuice, the Dady Brothers, the Jerry Dixon Band, and more. And this year, the festival amps it up a notch, with a concert from the fabulous High Kings! That’s right; on Saturday, March 12th, the High Kings will be performing at the Dulles State Office Building in a separately- priced show starting at 7:30 PM. Your $20 admission for Saturday’s concert also includes a one day pass to the North Country Goes Green Irish Fest. Ticket must be present to gain entrance into the fest. Daily admission to the festival itself is $6 per person, with children 12 and under admitted free if accompanied by a parent. Tickets are available at Watertown Kinney Drugs Locations or by calling DPAO at 782-3577, or at the door during the festival. For additional information, visit http://www.ncirishfest.com/. Enter the Haggis is Back Again… and Again For those of you who can’t wait until the Great American Irish Festival to see Toronto’s Enter the Haggis, you’re in luck… doubly in luck, actually. That’s right, Trevor, Brian, Mark, Craig and Bruce celebrate ETH’s 20th anniversary with their “Cheers and Echoes Tour,” with return trips to the Westcott Theater in Syracuse on Mar 5th, and to the Egg at the Empire State Plaza in Albany on March 26th (if you do attend both, we’d recommend coming back home in between the shows, if only to shower). With their signature Celtic rock sound and instrumentation of bagpipes blazing over a powerhouse rhythm section, they’ve long been a fan favorite in Central New York and throughout the continent. Tickets for the performance at the Westcott Theatre (524 Westcott St., Syracuse NY) are $15, and for the Albany show are $28. Both shows start at 8 PM. Goitse – Irish Music With a Twist Also pulling double duty this month is Ireland’s award-winning quintet, Goitse. Goitse -- the name is a Donegal Irish word (pronounced gwi-cha) meaning “come here” – offers up two chances for audiences to do just that, with stops in the Old Songs Community Arts Center (37 South Main Street, Voorheesville) and at the Center for the Arts in Homer, NY. Forged in the white-hot creative crucible of Limerick University’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, the quintet has made a name for themselves as one of the most sought after bands amongst connoisseurs of Irish Traditional music, having won feverish critical plaudits for their Dónal Lunny-produced second album, “Transformed.” As we all witnessed in their 2011 GAIF appearance, their distinctive sound lies in the quality of their own compositions interspersed with well-known traditional tunes, which make each set entertaining and unique.