SIGH SCRAPBOOK
What we did, when we did it !
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Suncoast Irish & Gaelic Heritage is excited about our upcoming year of Irish fun!
We are looking forward to a grand 2025 with you & Suncoast Irish!
We hope you will be joining us as we share our wonderful Irish culture & traditions at our events and through our Facebook page.
Please visit our MEMBERSHIP INFO page for the details
to become a member and/or a SIGH SPONSOR!
SLAINTE'
CELEBRATING ROBERT BURNS - THE BARD OF SCOTLAND!
What a tremendously fun evening
as we celebrate Scotland's Bard -
Robert Burns
As always, a grand Celebration of Robert Burns with Suncoast Irish and Jacks London Grill.
Chef Peter made some fantastic HAGGIS and held in hig fashion as it was paraded through the pub for all to see!
We paid homage to the great Scottish Bard himself, Robert Burns, by sharing in the traditional festivities and meal!
Thank you to our presentation team:
Piper Bethany Herkowitz, Gary Fuller,
Sionaínn Rose O'Dell, "Sully" Sullivan,
Lori M. Smith and Goody Haines-Fuller. and to Tommy WIlliams for his valuable assistance
as chief raffle-ticket person!!
Our grateful thanks to our members and friends that joined us!
Til' we meet again... Sláinte
Goody & SIGH Officers
THE IRISH VILLAGE at the INTERNATIONAL FOLK FAIR - SPIFFS
FEBRUARY 20th - 22nd, 2025 - England Brothers Park
Dia dhuit my friends!
We've needed a couple days to recoup from the week of excitement of presenting the Irish Village at the St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society, Inc. (SPIFFS)
As we receive photos from the event, we'll will be sharing them here, and on our website Scrapbook.
Suncoast Irish & Gaelic Heritage owes a huge amount of gratitude to the New World Celts. In addition to their sponsorships, Lori M. Smith , Janette Pomeroy & Larry Caldwell went above and beyond to keep us staffed on the Fair days. (The kids loved the tails and weapons!!) Libby Higdon, Kimberly A Gonzalez and Larry Caldwell did a whole lot of setting up in the foul weather we had on Wednesday. Libby does awesome re-enacting and represented 12th century Ireland Gallowglass for the school children.
PS: Larry is a ROCKSTAR!!
A special thank you and acknowledgement to Maria Osario and Dara MacGabhann of the Consulate General of Ireland, Miami for spending 2 days with us to share their knowledge of Ireland. How cool izzat!!!
Chef McKenna Pauline Hale brought some new treats and food to the Irish Village and it was soooo delicious! Check out her menu at Mickey Quinns in Seminole.
An Irish Village needs a pub and we had the best one ever... With great thanks to Gary Fuller for handling the Mary Margarets Olde Irish Tavern PUB STAGE... Many grand folks graced our little music tent to provide storytelling, historical facts and fiction of Ireland, lots of Irish songs and Shanties!
Thank you Ross Tarr, Kirsten Walker, Ed Bell, Sionaínn Rose O'Dell & Daniel O'Dell, Kerry OReilly & Matt, Kathie Nutter, & Finn Kellam the Piper.
Peter Brennan brought some informative photos, books and literature about his experiences with the Whale and Dolphin Research program in Ireland. Susan Brennan was a wonderful help running the Ring Game at the Irish tent!
Oisín Ó Ruacháinn is our favorite educator and he was able to teach Irish-Gaelic words and phrases to the students!
On Saturday we had a treat of the Tampa Bay GAA ( Gaelic Athletic Association) at our village to demonstrate the game of Hurling. It's known to be like field hockey, but deadlier! Thank you Scott Cooper for arranging the visit for the day with your team!
Norman McEvoy was there on behalf of the local A.O.H. organization to chat with folks!
A few more tidbits for now: lovely Harp playing by Joy Moffat , and Spinning wheel demonstrations by weaver Karen Bedell & Fiber Artist Elizabeth Neily.
Just before the Parade of Nations at 2:00 pm, the Scariff School of Irish Dance had a great dance set to share with the entire festival. It was good to see you and the young folk again Dr. Mike Michael Higgins.
There was a cute little marketplace tent for Irish gifts with an amazing crew each on of the 3 days! Kathryn Kathryn Waddell Jetter & Rana Jetter along with Lisa Bekiaris (the Blarney Scone) had a lot of activity!
Gary & I would like to thank Royce Bell for coming to the field to help pack up the trailer and van for the trip home... and to Tommy Williams who met us to unload the trailer & van in south Lakeland! We are really appreciative of your help. We were pretty sore all over by then!
Here is a quick list of our fabulous volunteers!
Amber O’Leary Beth Wall Christian Arial Chuck McAdams Claire Harlow
Di & Tom Morgan Deb Ward Ed & Royce Bell Lisa Hunt NWC Lori M. Smith & Matt
Lulu Downing Marita Lynch Michael Lange Misty Gonzalez Richard & Deb Hughes Sully Sullivan Matilda Sullivan Taylor Lee Teres Russell Tommy & Denise Williams
I know I still have a few more folks to thank and will
get it on here asap!!!
In the meantime, thank you deeply to our GREAT SPONSORS and all the wonderful folks that made this year's Irish Village a tremendous success for the community.
Yours in Celtic Harmony, Suncoast Irish Officers
SUNCOAST irish looks forward to the next INTernational folk fair as spiffs celebrates 50 years!
SUNCOAST irish organization at PADDYFEST III - 2025
SUNCOAST IRISH & GAELIC HERITAGE, IS SO PROUD TO BE PART OF THIS AMAZING ANNUAL EVENT for the 3rd YEAR!
Suncoast Irish is asking for a
FEW VOLUNTEERS to help throughout the day.
Shifts are
10 am to 2 pm // 2 pm to 6 pm // 6 pm to 9:30 pm
Contact Goody at sigh.clubinfo@gmail.com
May the LUCK of the IRISH be with you ALWAYS!
“Paddy Fest St. Pete” is back with even more shenanigans for its 3rd annual celebration of all things Irish at Historic Williams Park!
City of St. Petersburg, Florida’s biggest St. Patrick’s celebration returns Saturday, March 15th with an all-day extravaganza featuring the tastes & sounds of Ireland with step-dancers, bag pipers, bounce houses, food trucks, leprechaun wrestling & much more!
Paddy Fest is returning for the 3rd year in a row with loads of Irish food, drinks, music, and family fun festivities to Williams Park.
. Entry fee this year is $10, with a portion of the proceeds going directly to charity partner Ocean Aid 360.
SEE the WFLA - Paddyfest report 2024: HERE
WATCH THIS PAGE FOR MORE
SUNCOAST Irish & Gaelic Heritage EVENTS
