As a young man who grew up on the Northwest side of Chicago, being raised by parents of Irish decent; I have participated in every aspect of Irish culture be it parades, music, cuisine and even Irish dancing.
Let me clear up that last statement, in case someone wants to ask me to recreate the Lord of the Dance. As a young boy, my mother would bring me, my brother and my two sisters to a basement of a home that was offering beginning Irish dancing lessons. Not sure of my age but I'm sure I was a large clumsy goofball of a kid, dancing wasn't for me, (still isn't) therefore my brother and a bunch of other young hoodlum boys hid under the stairs (out of the way), while the school taught the girls and those who wanted to learn. It was a win / win for everyone, my mother talked to the other Mom's on the main floor, my sisters learned to dance, my brother & I perfected our goofball skills and most importantly; my Father was alone with all four kids away with Mom for a few hours of peace and quiet. Great investment as far as my Father was concerned and I still can't dance.
Below is a clip from the Conan show where he visited the Irish American Heritage Center in Chicago, located not far from my family home. My son Gavin and I recently went to Chicago to visit my parents and it was at the Heritage Center where my siblings and I lifted a glass with my newly minted 21 year old son. The facility is quite impressive, imagine a four story elementary school sitting on an entire city block converted into the mecca of all things Irish. There is live music every night, various festivals monthly, dance lessons, theater, art and much, much more. The Conan clip is good and it is worth a visit.
Conan Learns To Stepdance At The Irish-American Heritage Center
To circle back to my 2020 St. Patrick's post where the world had basically shut down, I reminisced of our wedding ceremony in in the oldest public building and oldest church in the City of Chicago - Old St. Patrick's Church. None of my grandparents were alive to attend my wedding, but they would have loved it. The priest was the beloved Father John Cusick, who just celebrated the 50th anniversary of his ordination and he still feeds my soul with his wisdom and guidance. There was a five or six string ensemble and our soloist Ms. Catherine O'Connell sang like an angel. At the end of the ceremony, there were bagpipes, and at the reception, there were Irish dancers. Of course, the party was epic.
In the Conan clip above he makes fun of Irish Soda Bread and as I have posted both my mothers recipe, as well as my grandmothers recipe, the links to each are included. Whip up a few loafs, cut a slice fresh out of the oven with a couple pads of butter, it's pretty damn good warm.
As the world is now back to semi-normal, this Friday night I'll be back at the All Saints Knights of Columbus fish fry working the bar where I'm told we will have Guinness available and miraculously the white wine may also be converted to green if so desired.
Another Friday evening event I would like to support is the Anderby Brewing Artist Market starting at 5 pm in close by Peachtree Corners. The atmosphere at the establishment is wonderful both inside & out (when the weather cooperates), the beverages are tasty and the variety food trucks usually hit the spot.
Saturday, after my typical early morning spinning class I will be visiting the Farmers Market with my sister & her husband visiting from Chicago, then in the afternoon I hope to visit the inaugural Northside St. Patrick’s Parade & Festival that will step off Saturday March 18th, 2023 at 10am in beautiful Sandy Springs GA. Aside from those plans, in the next few days we will probably be walking the Brook Run Trail, doing the dog park, stopping at a few quality dining establishments, getting coffee at Cafe Intermezzo, and over looking the Dunwoody skyline while enjoying an old fashioned at Bar Peri.
I'm not a runner but if I was, on Sunday, I would be attending the Pebble Tossers Ripple Run 5K in Brookhaven at Blackburn Park.
Finally, if don't want to miss a good time, I highly suggest you purchase your tickets to the Big Green Eggs & Kegs 2023 on Saturday April 22nd in Dunwoody Village / Bar[n} where the courtyard will overflow into the closed parking lot, food & drinks will be flowing with outstanding music being played. The event is a fund raiser for Juvenile Diabetes and it will sell out. Buy the kids a wrist band for Lemonade Days, ditch them at Brook Run and join us in the village on April 22nd.
I hope you have a great weekend.
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