15 August 2008
Irish Fest! Yay! We look forward to this one evening, all year long. It’s the main reason Kyle comes to Wisconsin . . . other than to see me, that is! 
We started our day with a fairly leisurely cup of coffee, and preparations to be gone all day. First—breakfast (brunch, actually) at Franks Diner in Kenosha. I have come to really love the place, and Kyle had never been there, so it was a priority for me to introduce him to it. Stephen met us there, since he’s living just blocks away. Kyle had a “half” garbage plate, I had a delicious omelette, and Stephen had a corned beef sandwich. Nobody left hungry, that’s for sure. And Kyle was as charmed with the place as I thought he’d be.
After breakfast, it was off up the road to Racine, where we’d made plans to have lunch with Joseph. We called and pushed back our meeting time a little bit, when the diner was busy and it took a while to get our food, there. And, still, breakfast and lunch came way too close together! We met at Joseph’s house, so he could give Kyle the grand tour of the work he’s been doing on it. The new kitchen is coming together nicely. Then, we went to Shilling’s, where they’ve recently gone “non-smoking” and added a fabulous menu. Unfortunately, there was no way either Kyle or I had room for much food at this point, so we shared a serving of their delicious bread pudding, and enjoyed a great visit with Joseph, before it was time to scurry on up the road to Milwaukee.
Shannon’s “tailgate” party was slated to start around 2 p.m., and it was nearly three before we arrived. The gang was already mostly gathered, but we still got a primo parking space, and had a good hour to enjoy that before the gates opened and we ambed our way into the country’s biggest Irish festival—Milwaukee Irish Fest.
Every year on opening day, the very first hour is established by the festival as a time when admission is free. So, that’s when we go! Fifteen stages of entertainment. Hundreds of vendors. Dog shows, parades, music classes, theatrical performances, games ranging from hurling to tug-of-war to bingo, whiskey tastings, dozens of Wisconsin beers and ales, step dancers, set dancers, public ceili dances, traditional music, celtic rock, pipe bands, choral performances . . . truly something for everyone. All in the setting of Milwaukee’s cutting edge Festival Park, with the beautiful Lake Michigan as a backdrop. Our only regret, year after year, is that we don’t have three days (and a lot more money!) to spend there!
Kyle goes for the music. He absolutely loves it. I love the shopping! Almost every year we find some new merchant selling something uniquely beautiful—and sometimes we can afford to take a piece home! Of course we feel the same about renaissance faires, too, and between the two types of events, we have collected some truly wonderful one-of-a-kind objects d’art. This year I fell in love the the work of a jeweller, whose designs revolved around the use of recycled beads and bits of old glass! Yum.
I especially enjoyed myself this year, because there was actually less music that Kyle was adamant about seeing/hearing, so we didn’t have to rush right in and find the first show of the evening. That meant I could do some shopping and acclimate to the festival before taking a seat at a show. I liked that. And of course, many of our favourite people were there with us, including . . . George, Delaenya, Shannon, Chad, Carlos, Kat, Sean and Amber, Gregg and Susan, Kimbelle and crew, and of course, Kelly and Ginger. This photo today, is of our dear Ginger, zoomed in, right after I said, “smile, Ginger!” I love it. I wish you could see her eyes, but that’s almost offset by the fact that you can see my little reflection in the lens of her sunglasses!
The photo was taken during the first of two noteable shows we saw—two groups that were new to us: Screaming Orphans, a “girl band” from Scotland, and PeatBog Fairies, a crazy, innovative cluster of eight very talented men performing some very non-traditional stuff, complete with synthesizer, trumpet and trombone! I’m sure Kyle will have even more to say about them. We stayed at the festival until we got tired—after ten o’clock, knowing we had an hour’s drive home, and an early morning right around the corner.
Next year’s Irish Fest date: 13 August!
~MB
