AUTHOR’S NOTE: The festival changed its location in 2019.
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After a 10 minute walk from my room at the Hampton Inn, I arrived at Riverplex…
…made my way through security, handed over my ticket…
…and entered to celebrate the Pittsburgh Irish Festival.
Attractions and events occurred all over the grounds…
…including a children’s area designated…
…for games, arts, crafts, song and dance…
…an Irish dog area…
…where dog lovers could get up close with their favorite Irish breeds…
…and a huge Marketplace…
…where festival goers could shop for kilts, shirts…
…hats…
…and jewelry…
…acquire a beautifully carved walking staff (Sculpting Santa)…
…an eye-catching lantern or light box (Homestead Luminary)…
…or some elegantly hand carved glasses (Healy Glass Artistry)…
…learn local Irish history through David Quinn’s novel, Steel Shamrocks…
…get involved with the Gaelic Arts Society of Pittsburgh…
…sign up for the 2017 Ligonier Highland Games…
…and learn to play Hurling (Pittsburgh Hurling Club).
Exploration was key at this festival…
…to find various vendors scattered about the grounds…
…see this Irish wedding display…
…take advantage of the inflatable pub…
…try your hand at various Irish musical instruments (Steel Clover Music)…
…or enjoy the musical entertainment…
…from the various stages on the grounds…
…as there were many not-to-miss performances (Screaming Orphans).
Another not-to-miss thing was the food.
The festival had a nice selection of Irish food vendors…
…selling everything from fish and chips (with Irish egg roll and a bacon-wrapped pickle)…
…to bangers and mash and more.
There were even some nice Irish desserts via baked goods and Irish-influenced ice cream flavors.
But let’s not forget the drink!
Before heading to the many beer booths and whiskey snugs…
…you needed to find a token booth…
…where most beers and whiskeys would cost about 2 tokens each.
But, if the whiskey snug selection was a little intimidating…
…there were a few booths…
…offering free samples of bourbon, whiskey, mead and scotch…
…all good reasons why I walked back to my hotel.