bill bodkin previews one of the biggest celebrations of Irish culture on the eastern seaboard and interviews the brains behind it …
The Event: National Shamrockfest 2011
When & Where: March 12, RFK Stadium, Washington
Tickets: Click Here.
The Band Line-Up: Dropkick Murphys, Carbon Leaf, The Mighty Regis, The Gobshites, Playboy Playmate DJ Kay Jay, Lost In Paris and Jersey Shore‘s DJ Pauley D. For more info, click on their website for the complete line-up.
DC Gaels Irish Village: An area filled with Washington D.C.’s favorite Irish pubs, plenty of food and beer, roving musicians and …
SHAMROCK PUB GAMES
“Get ready for the Shamrock Pub Games, the most exciting athletic competition in the history of man — where competitors from around the globe compete in life-or-death battles that test their wits, athleticism and strength like never before. Or, to put it another way … get ready for the Shamrock Pub Games, a ridiculous spectacle in which participants test their shame-level like never before. But seriously, there is $2,000 in cold hard cash on the line.
There Are Four Competitions:
1. Green Balloon Partner Squeeze — 2:30-2:50 p.m.:
Two-Person Teams (teams can be comprised of men, women or combination.)
Objective: Competitor partners race through a course with a green balloon squeezed between the two of them. The fastest team through, without popping the balloon, wins. (We provide the balloons to minimize cheating.)
2. Woman’s Legs in Kilt — 3:50-4:10 p.m.:
Individual Competition for Women
Objective: Women proudly showcase their beautiful legs for an adoring audience …and try to get votes.
3. Best Men’s Legs in Kilt – 4:10-4:30 p.m.:
Individual Competition for Men
Objective: Men strut around on stage like buffoons, shamelessly courting votes for their “best legs.”
4. Hula Hoop Contest – 6:10-6:30 p.m.:
The person who can hula the longest wins.
Pop-Break’s Bill Bodkin spoke with ShamrockFest founder Mike Harrigan of GoCity Events …
PB: What was the inspiration for ShamrockFest?
MH: This is our 11th year doing the festival. We are a company that does a lot of big events, and I’m Irish, so I thought it was a great idea.
PB: Why hold the event in Washington and not some bastion of Irish heritage like New York or Boston?
MH: It’s where I’m from.
PB: Has the Fest always been at RFK Stadium?
MH: We originally started the festival in Arlington, Va., but we outgrew the area.
PB: For someone who’s never been to the festival before, what can they expect?
MH: It’s a really cool blend of authentic Irish music, rock and DJ-produced club music. It’s just a really cool spread of people. Some interesting events going in is the national championship for Irish football (for both men and women).
We have an area dubbed the Irish village. It’s a big tented area and it features Irish bars from all over the D.C. area. We have a big quad in the middle of the area where we have the Pub Games. It’s kind of a tongue-and-cheek take on the Highland games. Silly games with men in kilts (laughs). There’s cash prizes for various competitions. There’s strolling entertainers, pipe and drums, people on stilts, people riding unicycles. It’s really an odyssey of the senses.
PB: You have a club area that Jersey Shore’s DJ Pauley D will be headlining. Last time I checked, he wasn’t too Irish, and club music isn’t exactly an Irish thing either. Why have this type of music at the festival?
MH: This is an authentic Irish festival, with traditional music that people are hardcore into. However, we want to cater to everyone. There’s a lot of crossover with club and pub music — its the fun and energy.
PB: There’s a ton of bands performing. Who are you looking forward to hearing?
MH: There are just so many … Dropkick Murphys, Carbon Leaf .. Pauley D’s really cool, the clips he puts together. He just puts on a good show. Plus, there’s bands like The Irish Rovers, The Mighty Regis. I’m pretty bummed that the band Ceann won’t be performing. Their lead singer singer recently passed away in a car accident.
PB: You guys also work with a lot of charities. Can you talk about some?
MH: We’ve worked a lot with Stop Child Abuse Now. Last year, we set the worlds record for the world’s biggest chest bump to raise money for breast cancer. There were about 2000 couples doing the chest bump — that was a fun one.
For more information on the festival, click here or find them on Facebook.
Where is the Mighty Regis?