Irish Fair!

Yesterday I spent the afternoon at the Irish Fair. It was so cool! And of course the best part for me was the Irish musicians, performing all types of traditional music all day. The Fair was held at Harriet Island, which looks over the beautiful Mississippi River in St. Paul, and honestly, we couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous day. I went with a few friends, and we just set up our chairs under a big shady tree by the main music stage, then we'd go off and explore. There was a big merch tent with tons of cool/expensive stuff, from jewelry to Irish rugby jerseys to Celtic instruments and swords.

Oh, and kilts. Lots and lots of kilts. I would say the vast majority of men I saw were sporting them. It was quite the fashion parade: some of them were the traditional plaid tartan patterns in green, blue, black or red, but there were also lots of modern and/or unusual kilts, like blaze orange, Yield sign yellow, camouflage and denim. I would have loved to get good pictures, but it's just the tiniest bit awkward, you see.
Although I got this one, because I loved his socks.


(I made the mistake of wearing a black t-shirt amongst all of the green. Totally anti-festive. I don't even have a U2 t-shirt)

There was a sheep herding demonstration...



and a hurling match.

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First of all, it's not THAT type of hurling.

I didn't get there in time to hear the exact rules of the game, but from what I could tell it looked similar to lacrosse. Instead of sticks with nets, though, they were wooden sticks with a flat, paddle-like end, which they used to scoop up the ball and whack it to their teammates. It was fun to watch, but I have no idea who won.

I didn't get a picture, but the Irish wolfhounds came out in droves. They are so huge! If they stood on their hind legs I'm sure they'd be taller than me. Want.


After all our exploring, we ended up sitting under the shady tree, listening to the great music as the afternoon cooled into the evening. It was a great time...I hope I can go again next year.