Leprechaun Land of Annapolis
- Kris
- Jul 16, 2014
- 3 min read
The first year of the Annapolis Irish Festival, we spent the majority of our down time in the hunt for a decently shaded place to park our blanket. The next year, we made our own shade with an umbrella, designed for rain and not as a makeshift parasol. Now in its fourth year, the Annapolis Irish Festival solved our problem for us and covered the main stage with a big ass tent (the “BAT” as Patrick Murphy of Gaelic Storm quipped in the strong accent of Cork). However, we were not able to fully enjoy the shade, as we spent the majority of the day volunteering in the kids’ area – Little Leprechaun Land.
As the Annapolis Irish Festival grows, it seems that we get more involved. The festival is the brainchild of Eddie McGowan, the bassist of Dublin 5, so the band is heavily involved in the running of the event. Many of our friends volunteer and help staff the festival.
Last year was actually the first time we volunteered ourselves, but we were asked specifically to come back again this year to assist with the kids’ area. Although our shift was 10:45-2:00 Saturday with the blow-up obstacle course, we worked through 4:40 doing glitter tattoos and maximizing the supplies available while still making the designs look as they should. It was a mad dash for the main stage to see Dublin 5 play at 5:00 after the shift.
So, for us, Saturday’s highlights were Dublin 5 and our favorite bartender from college coming to visit with us! Back then, she was on the other side of the bar, so it was awesome seeing her with a couple beverages (or five) in her system. I did also enjoy hearing Seamus Kennedy’s act on the stage nearest where we were stationed during the day. I’d seen him once before at Ram’s Head Annapolis around Christmastime, but his comedic performance was just as entertaining the second time around even though I was working.
On Friday night, we arrived for Gaelic Storm’s set where they once again incited an impassioned Queen-Off in between songs. About halfway through their set, a friend of ours working backstage gestured for us to come around the side. He explained that they had about 15 jumbo trash bags full of beach balls that they were going to toss out into the crowd near the conclusion of their set. Until that time, we watched Gaelic Storm from stage right, which was special for us because we were actually most excited to see their set.
After Gaelic Storm we caught the tail end of Kilmaine Saints with our friends whose shifts were finally over for the day (or mostly over).
Although many bands play at the festival, it has always been more about supporting our friends and helping them to make the festival everything they envisioned. It’s been special watching it grow, especially seeing how much work goes on behind the scenes and how hard our friends work to make it successful.
It's been an honor being a part of it.
"So raise a pint and give a cheer. This one’s for friends both far and near. Some are here and some have fallen. Bottoms Up! The whiskey’s calling"
Edited June 2016 from a post originally published July 16, 2014 via Wordpress
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