Pittsburgh Irish Competition celebrates 30 years with much more inexperienced

By jimadmin On Sep 8, 2021

Barb Martin will make the Pittsburgh Irish Festival a little greener.

The master gardener is working with members of the Late Bloomers Garden Club in Forest Hills to transform the Cultural Cottage into a plush area full of what Martin calls a “kaleidoscope of flowers, plants, herbs and vegetables.” The theme of the Cultural Cottage is “Ireland in Bloom”.

The 30th annual festival takes place Friday through Sunday at The Lots at Sandcastle in Homestead.

Each year the Cultural Cottage has a different theme such as Irish wedding traditions, instruments, dancing and food.

Gardening gloves and other tools are on display, as well as hanging baskets and horseshoes. Vines are used to decorate the sides of the structure.

For the first time, the cottage is inspired by the flowers and plants that thrive on Irish soil – well beyond shamrocks and four-leaf clovers. Martin said the gardens in Dublin, Ireland are beautiful.

“This is such a fun project,” said Martin. “All of us who are working on this have been to Ireland and love it. We value Irish traditions and can’t wait to see the reaction from people at the festival when they see what we’ve created. “

SO EARLY! #pghirishfest pic.twitter.com/yiwgjo1wVI

– PGH Irish Festival (@PittsburghIrish) September 6, 2021

The garden will be a beautiful sight, said Petrone, the festival’s manager. She said what’s new this year too is going to be a big screen TV for those who want to see the Steelers, Pirates, or Pitt Panthers in Ya Jagoff! Sports lounge! Sean Finnerty, the first Irish comedian to appear on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and David Nihill, the first Irish comedian to have a special on Dry Bar Comedy, will take the stage. on Friday and Saturday. An Irish exhibition presents the history of Gaelic Ireland through ten words used by the named people.

And on Friday there will be fireworks sponsored by Five Farms Irish Cream.

The festival will also feature the traditional aspects for which it is known, from authentic Irish food to music for vendors selling Irish goods, Petrone said -19 Updates.

“We want to offer the experiences on which the festival was founded and know and seek the people who come year after year,” said Petrone. “But it’s incredibly important to have new things to keep the festival fresh because our mission is to promote culture. We want to reach a wider audience and we often offer new things like the garden because it suits the green of the Irish and the green of the plant life and we continue to make the festival as green as possible, in terms of sustainability. ”

Adult tickets are $ 15, upfront $ 12. Children up to 12 years are free. Buy them here.

JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a contributor to Tribune Review. You can contact JoAnne at 724-853-5062, jharrop@triblive.com, or on Twitter.