August 2008 - Irish American News

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Page 38August 2008High Kings in GrandRapids on Sept. 17The High Kings will perform atthe Devos Performance Hall in GrandRapids, MI on Wednesday, September17th at 8pm. Ticket prices rangefrom $35.50 to $60.50 and can bepurchased at 616.456.333 or www.ticketmaster.com.The balladeers of the High Kings,Finbarr Clancy, Brian Dunphy, MartinFurey, and Darren Holden, all havenames and musical pedigrees thatresonate with Irish music lovers. Producedby the same folks that broughtus Celtic Women, the High Kingshave a new U.S. tour this September,which is expected to sell out in all theirvenues. The Grand Rapids performanceis their only stop in Michiganon this tour, and their only Chicagodate is Sunday, September 21, at ParkWest. After September they return fora much anticipated tour of Ireland.Kalamazoo Irish Fest September 28-29By Neil MullallyThe Irish American Club of Kalamazoo,Michigan, has scheduled thatcommunity’s annual Irish Fest for2008 on Friday and Saturday, September28 - 29. The Fest hours on Fridayare from 4:30 pm until midnight, andon Saturday from 10:30 am until midnight.Admission is $7.00 per adult,and children 12 or under accompaniedby an adult are admitted free. On Saturdaycollege students with school IDcan buy their tickets at half price. TheFest’s venue is Kalamazoo’s permanentdowntown festival park, ArcadiaCreek Festival Place.On Friday evening the mainstageperformers will include Embarr,Whiskey Before Breakfast, HarvestHome, and the popular regional bandFonn Mor.On Saturday, the full entertainmentline-up will showcase The Irish DanceCompany of Lansing, the QuinnSchool of Irish Dance, the KalamazooPipe Band, String Cheese, Freshwater,Rare Combination, Kennedy’s Kitchen,Donnybrook, and Belfast Gin.Freshwater hails from MountPleasant in northern Michigan, andRare Combination finds its talentedmembers in the Battle Creek/Kalamazooarea. One of Rare Combination’slead musicians is Father PatrickMurphy. Chicago and northernIndiana Irish music fans should beno strangers to Kennedy’s Kitchenand Donnybrook, because both bandsappear regularly in Chicagoland,Merrillville, and South Bend. BelfastGin is a celtic rock group fromKalamazoo, and a past winner of the“Battle of the Celtic Bands” there.At the Session Tent musicians arewelcome to drop by to create theirfoot-stomping, hand-clapping musicwith others who love to entertain theappreciative fest patrons.The Heritage Village is popularwith everyone attending the Fest. TheIrish American Club sponsors theIrish Tea Room, where tea, coffee andscones are served. Genealogy researchguidance is provided by experts fromthe Kalamazoo Valley Genealogy Society.The Pendragons Guild’s skilledcalligraphers demonstrate the fine artof medieval lettering, illumination,and drawing of Celtic designs andknots. Members of the KalamazooWeavers’ Guild take observers backin time as they spin wool into thread,and weave the thread into cloth, withseveral of their creations also on display.Even a palm reader and Celtichealing shaman are on hand.The Irish Marketplace has a fullarray of purveyors of Irish goods andfood choices.Families with young children mustvisit Ti na nOg (Land of the Young)Children’s Center. Special activitiessuch as handcrafts, games, and facepainting await the wee ones there.Kalamazoo is located east of Chicagoon I-94, and is a pleasant, allexpressway drive of 145 miles, with adriving time of between 2 - 2.5 hours.For more information and to get updates,go to www.kalamazooirish.org.Irish in MichiganBook Review by Frank WestThis is an outstanding book. In itsbrief length of 63 pages of text (92with index, etc.) it tells the amazingstory of the Irish in America. Ourancestors came here to find workand the freedom to improve life fortheir families.From the time the first Irish settledin Michigan, in the early 1800’s, theybuilt the railroads, worked on farms,in factories and saw mills, for thelumber and fishing industries, etc.The thing common to all of this is thatthey were to work hard—very hard.About this the authors, Seamus andEileen Metress, say “They deepenedand smoothed harbors. They alsoworked on the docks and the boats onthe lakes. They drained the swamps,tilled the fields, and cleared the land.They excavated and built the early ca-… continued on next page
August 2008 Page 39nals and roads with sheer muscle powerand later constructed the railroadgradesa n dtracks inthe samemanner.Later theybecamekey operativesin thegrowingmanufacturingsector where they were involved inunion organizations as well as localcommunity development.”I’m astonished how similar thereasons for coming to Michigan areto those of my own ancestors comingto Illinois.When my grandfather came fromIreland, he could only find work inBoston as a laborer’s helper. He cameto Chicago and worked for severalyears on the railroad docks unloadingbox cars.After several years of that, he wasaccepted by the Chicago Police Department.My grandmother workedas a domestic servant in a mansionon his beat. They married and begana family.Why Irish people came to America,and where they traveled to find workis a fascinating story. And that storyis told in this jewel of a book.Irish in Michigan by Seamus andEileen Metress. Michigan State UniversityPress, East Jausing, 2006. 93pages; $8.95. www.mspress.msu.ed.The future for our Irish Americanheritage is bright. More and moreAmericans are declaring themselvesas of Irish descent in the 1990 and2000 censuses. There are more booksand plays published each year byIrish and Irish American writers. Andthere is an increasing awareness andpromotion of our literary, cultural,and musical heritages.I’ll close this review with a quotefrom this wonderful book. Greaterawareness among young Irish Americansof their heritage may have twoeffects: “Pride in their own ethnicbackground may allow them tofeel more comfortable with themselves…”,and “It may also enrichtheir lives with a sense of identity andbelonging in a society that seems togrow more rootless.”Michigan’sFamine MemorialBy Neil MullallyMichigan’s An Gorta Mor Memorialis located in the Irish Hills district ofLenawee County in southeastern Michigan,near the city of Adrian. After yearsMichigan Irish Music Festival Set for September 12-14By Neil MullallyThe best ever! That’s the insideword from Festival Director ChrisZahrt on the 2008 Michigan IrishMusic Festival, to be held on theweekend of September 12-14, inMuskegon, Michigan. Now in its 9thyear at its unique concert venue onthe shores of Muskegon Lake, thefestival’s reputation as a first classevent draws an audience from theMidwest and beyond.Headlining the 2008 festival willbe Gaelic Storm, Scythian, Teada,The Barra MacNeils, and Millish. Returningfavorites include Switchback,Seamus Kennedy, Lawrence Nugent,Blackthorn, Fonn Mor, Kennedy’sKitchen, Peg & Collette, and The MuskegonPolice and Pipe & Drum Corps.Festival Entertainment DirectorTom Schaub considers this year’sline-up to be one of the strongest hehas booked in the festival’s history.He is especially enthusiastic about introducingMillish to a wider audiencein the band’s home state of Michigan.Schaub comments, “Last year whenI visited the festivals in Dublin andMilwaukee, I asked several of the performerswhom they think is the hottestup- and- coming band on the scene,and they answered Millish. Millish isbreaking into the main festival circuit,and we are glad to have them with usthis year.” For more information onthe Ann Arbor based Millish, whosemembers include a champion fiddlerand a champion uilleann pipe player,go to www.millish.com.With the performers using threestages, the entertainment is non-stopduring the festival. And in the PubTent there is more entertainment,of fundraising by the Ancient Order ofHibernians, St. Patrick’s Division #1, ofthe City of Adrian, the Memorial wascompleted and dedicated in 2004.The Memorial is located on thegrounds of St. Joseph’s Shrine (yes,there is a statue of St. Patrick at theshrine, too), and is an imposing portalScythian (shown here at the 2000 festival) will be returning this yearto the Michigan Irish Music Festival.along with a fine Irish Food Courtwhere there is no problem for festivalgoersto find their favorite sustenanceand libations. When added to all thatare the Dance Stage, the Session Tent,and the exhibits in the Cultural Tent,and the Limerick Contest, no one canavoid having a great time!Many vendors travel to Muskegonto join the festival’s Irish Marketplace,where they make available thebest in Irish jewelry, clothing, crafts,recorded music, and more. IAN’sown Shay Clarke is a frequent participantin the Irish Marketplace.Because the festival is truly a familyevent for patrons of all ages, thefestival provides an extensive “WeeOnes” area near the County KerryStage. There parents will find a varietyof activities for children fromtoddlers to teens.On Saturday the Michigan IrishMusic Festival also sponsors itsFeis, which attracts some 700 dancersfrom Michigan and other states.The Feis is held at the nearby L.C.structure. The platform of the Memorialconsists of thirty-two black stones,each representing an Irish county. Theflagstone center of the base and the twocolumns are made of stone quarried inCounty Donegal. The Memorial’s focalpoint is the lintel (cross-beam), whichis an actual stone step from PenroseQuay in Cork, where many famineships left Ireland. In the center of thebase is a large, empty bowl symbolizingthe Great Hunger. Along thebackground of the Memorial ground isa low stone wall, as found throughoutIreland. The Memorial is moving in itsstark simplicity.The Irish Hills area is also the homeof the Michigan International Speedwayfor Formula 1 racing. The Memorial islocated on U.S. Highway 12 in the IrishHills. For more information and traveldirections, go to www.visitlenawee.com and click on Irish Hills.Walker Arena. At the conclusion ofthe Feis, the dancers form a “Paradeof Champions” and perform at thefestival’s Dance Tent for the rest ofthe weekend—a great opportunity fordancing before public audiences.At 9am Sunday morning a CatholicMass is celebrated at the MainStage, with Chicago’s own Switchbackproviding the worship music.If you think you know Switchback’smusic and talent, you have not heardanything until you experience Martyand Brian’s performance here.On Friday evening from 5-6pm,admission to the festival is free. Afterthen adult admission on Friday is$6.00. Adult admission on Saturdayis $12.00, and on Sunday $10.00.Three day passes are available for$20.00. Admission for children ages6-12 is $2.00 each day, and childrenunder 5 are free. Special lodging ratesare listed on the festival’s website.Those low admission prices arepossible thanks to the festival’s majorsponsors, which include MercyHealth Partners, Guinness, Budweiser,Verizon, Huntington Bank,Shape Corporation, Pro-PhoneCommunications, Independent Bank,Muskegon Community College, andPioneer Resources.Muskegon, Michigan, is located180 miles north of Chicago on theeastern shore of Lake Michigan.Driving time from Chicago is aboutthree hours. Some Northside travelersfind it convenient to take the highspeed Lake Express Ferry, whichoperates between Milwaukee andMuskegon. To purchase tickets andfor details about the Michigan IrishMusic Festival, go to the festival’swebsite www.michiganirish.org.You can also sign up there for emailupdates about the festival.
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August 2008 - Irish American News

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