I am very excited about the Rose and Shamrock Festival. I went to a previous Festival of the same name in 2016. It was a great festival, but it was very expensive. My wife was a vendor at that festival and as such we didn’t pay the $35.00 entrance fee. There was free beer, but since I was suffering from vertigo at the time, I didn’t drink much that day. As I said, it was an incredible festival. The best thing was that it was in the heart of Downtown Lancaster, Pa, which is a really cool little city. There is a lot going on downtown in Lancaster. This Festival is one of the cool things. This year, it is FREE! It is going to be a great day. There will be great bands. I will be giving an example of a traditional Robert Burns Supper Address to the Haggis, and then having a Robert Burns/Scottish song sing along. There will be demonstrations of Scottish Country Dancing, which is one of the ancestors of square dancing. There will be all sorts of tutorials, from Bodhran playing to Beginning Irish Dancing.
This Festival has been put together by Esther Pujol of the Paloma School of Irish Dance and Paloma Irish Arts Foundation.
Here are the Bands and musicians that will be there. I am listing them in order of appearance.
- Piping Competition run by the Piobaireachd Society of Central PA–We have a Society in Central PA, dedicated to the Classical Music of the Great Highland Bagpipe!
- The Celtic Martins— Here is a video of the Celtic Martins
- The Rehoboth Welsh Choir—Here is a video of the Rehoboth Welsh Choir–I am particularly excited to hear this group, as I have wanted to go hear them, and have wanted to go to the Welsh Eistedfodd ever since I heard of it!
- Charlie Zahm and Tad Marks–This is a great duo. You shouldn’t miss it! I include Charlie’s wikipedia page as well.
- Fire in the Glen–Here is a video of The Leaving of Liverpool by Fire in the Glen!
- Down by the Glenside–here is a video to give you a taste!
- The Kilmaine Saints–here is a video of the Kilmaine Saints!
- Barley Juice–This is the only paid concert of the day. You can order tickets here!
- Across the Pond–Here is a video!
I hope that you make the time to attend this festival. Most people think of Lancaster County as the Land of the Pennsylvania Dutch. What most don’t know is that there is a strong Scottish, Irish, and Welsh population here from before the Pennsylvania Dutch arrived, and it still is present in the culture and traditions in the county.
