Festival celebrates traditional Irish music, dance and culture
About 20 workshops including ones in jigs, fiddling and Celtic knots were offered Saturday at the Sean-Nós Northwest Irish Festival at The Evergreen State College in Olympia.
In its 10th year, the festival continues through Sunday and is open to the public. A single-day pass costs $60 and includes admission to four workshops, along with tea and treats.
“There is no other festival that focuses on Gaeilge (Irish) language, Gaeilge singing and the old style of dance — that’s the highlight,” said SeánWilliams, president of the Irish Cultural Society of the Pacific Northwest, which sponsors the festival. “Most of the (other) Irish festivals are about stage competitions.”
About 100 people attended Saturday’s workshops, which included numerous music, dance and art classes along with an introduction to the Gaeilge language and an Irish cooking demonstration.
“I love the laid-back atmosphere,” said Sadie Record, 21, one of four students from Beloit College in Wisconsin who attended the event. “I love that it’s really easy to try a new thing without feeling pressured.”
Festival director Kimberly Goetz said the festival offers beginning, intermediate and advanced classes. There are workshops for people who know very little or nothing about Irish culture and traditions, she said.
“We’re happy to help you figure it out,” Goetz added. “We’ll help you learn to pronounce things.”
Sunday’s lineup includes about 20 more workshops, including more music and dance classes and workshops on the Irish sport of hurling and zoomorphic animals. It will wrap up with an evening music session led by the festival’s instructors at Cooper Point Public House.
“The Irish music has a really great draw,” said festival instructor Randal Bays of Olympia. “People are really excited about it.”
Williams, who teaches ethnomusicology and Irish studies at Evergreen, said the festival was created to help share true Irish music, dance and cultural traditions that one might pick up in an Irish pub or private home, versus the more common “Riverdance” type of performances and other elements that are often portrayed in “Irish American pop culture.”
“The Ireland that we know is radically different, and it’s much more intimate,” Williams said. “…It’s friendly and warm and welcoming.”
Morgaine McFarland, 28, of Seattle said she enjoys the Irish Festival because it offers a wide range of language and cultural classes, and some of the instructors are from Ireland.
“It’s not really Ireland, but it’s definitely a doorway to it,” she said.
Lisa Pemberton: 360-754-5433, @Lisa_Pemberton
If you go
The Sean-Nós Northwest Irish Festival continues with classes from 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday in the Communications Building at The Evergreen State College, 2700 Evergreen Parkway NW, Olympia. Cost is $60 for the day. An evening music session with the festival’s instructors will follow at Cooper Point Public House. For more information, go to seannos.org.
This story was originally published April 8, 2017 at 8:32 PM with the headline "Festival celebrates traditional Irish music, dance and culture."