ST. PATRICK'S DAY 2008 VANCOUVER ROUNDUP
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GWEN AND TONY MCCAMLEY enjoying the Irish Heritage Society dinner and dance. Gwen is the treasurer and Tony is the president of the Society. |
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A TABLE full of happy guests at the Irish Heritage Society St. Patrick's dinner and dance |
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GUESTS at the Irish Heritage Society St. Patrick's dinner and dance (L-R) - Kathleen Ethier, Maureen Treanor, Jack Ethier, Joanne Long and James Carbin. |
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
VANCOUVER - In many cities St. Patrick's is now a week-long event, and it takes two weeks to recover. It's no wonder that so many workers in the hospitality industry, particularly Irish restaurants and pubs arrange to take holidays right after St. Patrick's Day.
Locally, members of the BC Regiment Irish Pipes and Drums and all the Irish dance schools were in high demand well before St. Patrick's Day ever arrived.
Rita Albano, executive producer for Edgewater Casino CelticFest Vancouver, is to be congratulated for producing another excellent week of activities in downtown Vancouver and showcasing some of the best in Celtic talent.
Celebrating the fifth year of CelticFest, new artistic director Tim Readman expanded the level of Celtic entertainment at the festival to include entertainers from across Canada and overseas.
The opening night at the Commodore Ballroom featured Scotland's great Battlefield Band, our own Tiller's Folly, Qristina and Quinn Bachand, along with Ottawa Valley stepdancer and fiddler Stephanie Cadman.
The full week of entertainment both on the street and in the restaurants and pubs culminated with the St. Patrick's Day parade, organized by CelticFest.
It is estimated that a staggering 250,000 people attended the 2008 St. Patrick's Day parade, which is getting bigger and better every year. The parade provides a wonderful opportunity for all the Celtic and not so-Celtic organizations to strut their stuff.
Some of the other highlights of the week included the annual dinner and dance hosted by the Irish Heritage Society. This sold out event was held at St. Mary's Ukranian Hall in Vancouver this year. It was a very warm and convivial event with a delicious buffet and an array of entertainment led by those all-time favourites the Rogues n' Tinkers.
On March 17, all the local Irish pubs and restaurants were geared up for one of their busiest days of the year.
Early in the day, I set out to visit a number of these establishments and take in the atmosphere. It was surprising to see so many people out celebrating so early, especially since St. Patrick's Day fell on a Monday this year.
While there was a brisk business everywhere, most of the pubs didn't have a line-up until early evening, with the exception of the Dublin Crossing Irish Pub in Surrey. They had a line-up of people waiting to get in from 10 AM. Even GM Matt Brear was surprised at the early hour line-up. The pub only opened a year ago in January.
Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I will let the photos on the pages of this issue of The Celtic Connection tell the real story of St. Patrick's Day activities for 2008.
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