Every year, Dublin erupts in a green frenzy as the Irish Festival picks up steam and throngs of people descend on Coffman Park. However, the festival is about more than just shamrocks, shepherd’s pie and shillelaghs. There’s a thriving trend toward philanthropy and community-mindedness there too – although it’s not often heard through the din of fiddle music and step dance.
For the past two festivals, patrons who arrived before noon on Sunday morning were granted free entry, and are urged to donate a nonperishable food item to the Dublin Food Pantry (the program continues this year as well). But, last year, pantry Communications Manager Linda Fisher had a problem with donations. The problem wasn’t a lack of donations, but exactly the opposite. The influx of generosity was so strong that it overwhelmed the pantry’s resources. Festival visitors had donated over four tons of food in less than three hours – and Fisher was running out storage space.
“I was prepared for maybe two or three thousand pounds of food,” Fisher explains. “It was one of those challenges that was actually a good problem to have,” she says. “Before 11 o’clock in the morning, people had donated over 8,000 pounds of food. That was about 50 percent of our total take for all of last year.” She hopes that now that the food pantry program is in its third year, that they’ll be able to collect even more nonperishable food items or cash donations for those in need.
“It really was an ‘all hands on deck’ situation,” she says. She described a situation where she couldn’t get back and forth to the Food Pantry quickly enough, so the all-volunteer staff rounded up as many people, boxes and trucks as possible to get the food back to the pantry to be stored safely.
“It was overwhelming,” she adds, “overwhelming in the amount of food and the amount of generosity. People weren’t just bringing one item. They were bringing bags of food, and some even donated money. It was amazing to see.”
The spirit of giving is alive and well throughout the whole festival – not just on Sunday morning.
Mary Jo DiSalvo, spokeswoman for the festival, says that there are numerous ways that the festival gives back to the community. “There are so many really beautiful stories that go on behind the scenes. The programming is fantastic, and we bring a lot of fun bands, but we don’t get the chance to talk about all the things that go on behind the scenes,” DiSalvo adds.
Last year, twins Laura and Stephanie VanVliet won two $1,000 scholarships, funded by Emerald Club membership fees that went directly to the girls’ college education. Both were graduates of Dublin Coffman High School and went on to study at Ohio University and Ohio Wesleyan, respectively.
There’s also the Sharing O’ the Green program that helps fill the coffers of Dublin community groups. After all is said and done, it essentially allows certain community groups to take shifts and work the festival to receive a percentage of the festival pot. Last year, over $103,000 was raised to support local athletic, arts and community programs like Dublin Coffman Male Soccer, Girl’s Field Hockey, the Miracle League, Social Action Committee and the Dublin Singers, among a slew of others.
“These families, neighbors, friends, community groups, they’re all engaging each other. There are so many layers that it’s just kind of incredible,” DiSalvo says.
SIDEBAR: Something old, something new
The Dublin Irish Festival returns for its 23rd weekend of Irish music, dance, sports cultural activities and food. While the festival activities stick to the successful formula of years past (hundreds of vendors, multiple stages of entertainment, the sand sculpture, caber toss, hurling, sheep herding, children’s area, etc.) there will be a few new attractions this year.
Gathering of the Redheads
Andy Warnock, the co-administrator and co-owner of www.redhead-world.net and festival sponsor, is attempting to assemble the worlds-largest gathering of redheads. This is an effort similar to the “world’s largest Irish jig,” a record that was set at the Festival few years back.
“They have done this kind of thing in the Netherlands and in Russia, so we thought it was long overdue in North America,” Warnock says. “They had a gathering of 3,000 redheads in Roodharigendag (the Netherlands, 2008) so we’re trying to beat that record,” he adds. Warnock will have a booth at the festival, so stop by and find out when and where you can set a world record!
UPDATE:
Unfortunately, Warnock didn't set a world record, but people loved the idea of gathering as many redheads as possible on the sports field as possible.
The newest “VIP fan experience,” will be the Dub Club, a special area set aside for those who purchase the l “members only,” package. For $50, a purchaser gains access to a private, elevated area near the Dublin stage featuring private entrances, beverage station, bathroom, seating area and view of the Dublin stage.
“The other VIP venues, like the Emerald Club, require 2, 4 or 8 people to join. For the Celtic Rock Club, you’ll need 20, 30 or 40. The Dub Club is the first time single people can join, just by themselves,” DiSalvo says.
Location:
Dublin Coffman Park, 5600 Post Road
$10 ($9 advance) – General Admission (age 13-59)
$7 ($6 advance) – Seniors and Military
$23 – Weekend Pass (advance only)
Free – Children 12 and Under