Irish Fest This Weekend

The 2016 Kalamazoo Irish Fest will be taking place, this weekend, at a new location in downtown Kalamazoo.

The Old Dog Tavern, located at 402 E. Kalamazoo Avenue, will be hosting two days of music, dance and contests celebrating the Irish.

The Old Dog Tavern has an indoor stage, as well as a spacious, grassy, outdoor venue, where many of the events will take place.

If you enjoy the sound of bagpipes, the Kalamazoo Pipe Band will be performing along with a variety of Celtic bands and step dancers.

And of course, you cannot have an Irish Fest without the obligatory most freckles, greenest eyes, reddest hair and best kilt contest's. And new this year is the Klassic Kilt Contest, in collaboration with the Kalamazoo Klassic which runs Saturday morning. Anyone who runs the 5K in a kilt will have the chance to win awards for fastest and for best style, in both the male and female divisions.

Admission for the Irish Fest is $10.00 for adults, $5.00 for all students with a valid ID. Children are welcome until 9:00 pm both days, and are free with a paid adult admission.

The weather forecast for Friday and Saturday is sunny with temperatures in the mid-80’s, making great conditions to celebrate the Irish tradition, which even the kids can enjoy until bedtime!