Aye, that's good craic - a weekend at the Irish Fair of Minnesota

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The Aoife Scott Band, 2017


It was our second year at the Irish Fair, and this time my friend and I went Saturday and Sunday; Saturday was a beautiful warm, sunny day. A grand day for listening to The Aoife (ay-fuh) Scott Band. Aoife is a member of one of the first families of Irish music, the Black Family (her mother is Frances Black; Mary Black, her aunt, and Roisin O, her cousin), but she totally stands on her own. She is relatively new, at least as far as recordings, having one album ("Carry the Day") under her belt, but she engaged the audience right from the beginning, and it seemed there was quite a good crowd at the main stage. There were covers, but also original tunes, and she told the stories behind their inspiration or creation. Her band was fabulous, including a guitarist (her 'fella'), a fiddler/bouzouki player, bodrhan/flute player (the bodrhan is a hand held Irish drum), who also wowed us with some crazy leg Irish dancing at the end of the set. If you're reading this and you're in Milwaukee or elsewhere in the US, keep an eye out for The Aoife Scott Band as they are on tour until October (they plan an escape before winter comes).



On Sunday, we caught Katie McMahon's set, which was a little more traditional and folk based. Katie was part of the original Riverdance cast, and I saw her a couple times with the touring company. She not only sings, but plays the harp. Lovely. She was accompanied by a band (fiddle, guitar, autoharp and assorted percussion and a backing singer) but also on a few of the reels, four members of a local Irish dance troupe performed on stage. Katie lives in the Twin Cities, so it's nice to say she's one of our own.



It's not just music, but food (which is like typical fair food - fried, and everything has an Irish twist - corned beef, stout, whiskey, etc. added) and drink (no Guinness 😞 ), but also booths with Irish/British clothing - kilts, tams, t-shirts, jewelry, photos, baked goods (I missed out on my Jameson Bailey's cake this year), chocolates, pretty much anything you could want to buy; there is a tent for Irish dogs, our favorite is the Irish Wolfhound, so big, but gentle; and watching different sports, like hurling or Gaelic football; many dancing exhibitions and cultural tents.







Some treats: soda bread, chocolate stout pie, chocolates


The fair is free, so whether you plan on it or not, you are apt to catch some fabulous, 'deadly' music (deadly is a positive thing; those crazy Irish). Did I mention that it was FREE? Yep. You may have to pay for parking, and you'll pay for your food and bevvy (as they say), but I don't think the prices (you pay with tickets) are out of line, but you get all the free music and people watching you can handle. It's all over for this year, but mark your calendars for next August.

Slainte


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