KC Irish Fest Director Interview
NOTE: This post relates to the Irish festival that took place in 2006 and is no longer relevant. It is left here for historical reasons
The 2006 Kansas City Irish Fest Director Pat O’Neill talking about Kansas City’s Irish community and this Labor Day Weekend’s festival is available to listen to online at KCUR
It’s a nice four minute piece (an MP3) where Pat espouses on a theory why Irish Festivals in general, and this one in Kansas City in particular, are so successful.
You can also hear snippets of Ireland’s The Fuchsia Band performing that cobbler song. The boys recently hooked up with the legendary Tommy Makem, and it was the same cobbler song that way back in the early days gave Tommy the attention he deserved from previously non-listening audiences.
When Makem would start, he declined to sing and instead mimed the art of cobbling. This would puzzle people to the extent that they would stop talking and Tommy would then sing.
The Fuchsia Band are playing everywhere at the 2006 Irish Festival. From straight performances to musical workshops, story telling, and if you go to a céilí, it’ll be the boys at the helm.
In between all that they have some toilet trips scheduled, and will be manning a booth they are sharing with Eddie Delahunt where you can get their excellent new CD, a Fuchsia Band button if you’re nice, and I hear they still have some pink hotpants for sale.
See also:
• Irish Events Labor Day Weekend +
• Biggest Irish Festivals in America
• 2nd Annual Kansas City Feis
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