It's not too late to get one more festival in for the season! This is the last weekend of the Minnesota Renaissance Festival and they're winding things up with an Irish theme. The Shamrocks & Shenanigans party runs through September 27 & 28, with an Irish village, Irish food, Irish dancers and music, Guinness tastings, and a keg toss (among other disturbances of the peace). Enjoy!

One last blast before school starts?

School is starting for kids in our neighborhood (and our house). We can't believe August is almost over. What happened to the summer?

Irish & Celtic (and other) festivals

Our State Fair starts up this weekend, and our good friends from Irish on Grand will be part of the international bazaar, selling lovely Irish merchandise.

If you're in the area stop by. To be perfectly honest, the Minnesota State Fair is worth the trip, even if you have to fly in. This year there are at least two Irish acts during the fair: The Irish Brigade on the 29th & 30th, and The Willis Clan, also on the 29th & 30th. On the 22nd, O'Shea Irish Dancers will perform as well.

This weekend our friends in Buffalo, Peoria, and Newport all have Irish and Celtic festivals. Will you be going? 

• Buffalo Irish Festival (Buffalo, NY)
• Peoria's Erin Feis (Peoria, IL)
• Newport Celtic Rock Festival (Newport, RI)

The blog is back!

The blog is alive again! Thanks for your patience, Irish Rose friends.

August Irish & Celtic festivals

It's August, but festival season is far from over. Last week our town's Irish Fair—also known as the nation's

The Minnesota Irish Fair (photo courtesy the Brian Boru Irish Pipe Band

largest free Irish fair—was going strong. And this weekend it's the Milwaukee Irish Fest. The Irish Rose was part of that great event for over 20 years, and we miss all our friends there. But . . . it is nice here in the air conditioning. :-)

Also, this weekend there are Celtic Festivals in Hunter Mountain, NY and Rock Island, IL. Have fun, everyone, and stay hydrated!

What else is new?

We're happy to announce that The Irish Rose Facebook page is up and running after much procrastination. Please like it! Then you'll be able to take advantage of special deals we promote on Facebook only. Wanna be friends?