Roll on St Patrick’s Day!
THE WESTBURY St Patrick’s Day Festival returns to the Village Green on Saturday 21 March for a day-long celebration of all things Celtic and Irish. This is the festival’s silver jubilee year – 25 years of merrymaking in the modern era. Activities begin with a street parade from 10am and then roll into a rich performance program ably supported by food and craft stalls, church market, vintage tractors and children’s activities. There will be demonstrations of traditional activities such as spinning and blacksmithing. Guinness will also feature. The intent is to create a village festival that celebrates Westbury’s Irish heritage through the folk tradition and rural activities. Entry is by donation, in keeping with the Festival’s commitment to being available to all.
An exciting feature of this year’s program is the use of St Andrews Church as a venue for short acoustic performances and presentations. These St Andrews ‘Spotlights’ will provide an intimate alternative to the main stage action. Come along and enjoy a whistle player, a piper or a singalong. Festival performers include: The Wheels, The Rolling Waves, Argo’on, Brian Owens, Barbara Palmer Irish Dancers, Eddie Tuleja, the Meander Men, Helen and Mick Flanagan, The U3A Strummers and Drummers, the Westbury Primary School Maypole Dancers, City of Launceston RSL Pipe & Drums and local session players. For festival enquiries, stall registrations and offers of support please contact Amanda Taylor on 0467 097 791 or at westburyspf@gmail.com.
Hot news!
Young Irelanders A special pre-festival event is to take place on Friday 20 March in St Andrew’s Church. This will be ‘An evening with the Young Irelanders’, a telling of the epic Irish exiles’ story through live music, song, dance and narration followed by supper and music at the Westbury RSL. Tickets $20 and $10 for U12s – available from Meander Valley Council offices, Westbury. Phone: 6393 5300. Church service A community service will take place at the Westbury Catholic Church on Sunday 22 March from 2pm.
