Milwaukee Irish Fest 09, The low down with Bill Margeson

K. Milwaukee Irish Fest. The big mamoo. The grandaddy. The mack daddy. The BIG ONE.

Gorgeous weather all three days, really. Big, big crowds, but not a new record, according to management. Probably about 129,000 over the four night-three day event. Hits? Surely, Scotland's Salsa Celtica, The Red Hot Chili Pipers from Scotland,and Vishten, out of Nova Scotia. Huge crowds, of course, for Gaelic Storm, but whatever they play, it is certainly not Celtic (or Gaelic), so we don't count them into the mix. But, they do bring HUGE crowds. Lots of new and returning vendors, almost unanimously reporting fewer and smaller sales. The economy.



Next year is the 30th anniversary of the Fest. BIG plans, plus there is a huge promotion set with Northern Ireland a'la Nova Scotia. LOTS of comments and talk about us here at LI. VERY big deal for the Yanks!