“Oh, the Places You’ll Go” Dr. Suess (Part II)

My last blog, written after I attended a New England Irish Festival, posed the question, “How does it get better than that?” Well, here is my answer:

What could be better than being invited to share your new book at a local Irish festival? How about sharing your book at the largest Irish Festival in the country?
This August I have been invited to the Milwaukee Irish Fest which holds claims to the greatest celebration of Irish culture in the world! It takes place in an enormous festival park on Lake Michigan. I am told they expect over 130,000 Irish devotees over the three-day event with 250 acts on 17 stages. Oh, and it takes some 4,000 volunteers to make this festival happen. I really can’t believe that they asked me to come and share my Irish immigrant story, but I am thrilled! I am shipping books, packing my Civil War letters and catching a flight to Wisconsin! But wait, why is the largest Irish festival held in Milwaukee? Isn’t that city best known for beer and The Fonz?
I never knew there was a large population of Irish-Americans living there. It turns out there isn’t. Milwaukee actually has a greater population of Germans and Italians, but in 1981 a man named Ed Ward wanted to host a festival (like the other ethnicities were doing) to celebrate the Irish. He had a very small budget, but local pubs and enthusiastic politicians and organizations helped put together the first festival and drew a surprising crowd of over 50, 000 people! After that, they received grants and it grew into the enormous music and cultural event that it is today. On the festival’s 25th anniversary in 2005 the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, attended the festival. Every year since then more and more representatives from Ireland such as reporters, politicians and clergymen have come to the Milwaukee event to take part in the festivities.
In addition to the musical and cultural events that I saw in Massachusetts, the Milwaukee festival also has a huge Irish marketplace, a leprechaun village for children, cooking classes, contests for prettiest red hair, greatest number of freckles, tastiest scones, etc. It also has a Jameson Whiskey lounge and coffee drinks from “Dirty Nellies” in Ireland. I will be appearing in the cultural village along with six other authors, a group of genealogists and children’s book illustrators. I heard there will be a woman playing the harp nearby. I can’t wait! I feel like the luckiest person in the world to be so wonderfully embraced by the Irish-Americans. I hope my novel about an Irish family coming to America during the Great Emigration and struggling to make it in their newly adopted country is well received. I bet I’ll be hearing many colorful stories of Irish ancestry and first-generation settlement to the United States. It should be fascinating and inspiring..

I am excited to share my experiences at the Milwaukee Irish Festival. I will post photos and videos on my author Facebook page and on Instagram. Stay in touch and get ready to see how Irish-Americans celebrate their Irish heritage!!
For more information on my novel, Yours Faithfully, Florence Burke go to Ellenalden.com

See you in Milwaukee!
Cheers!
Ellen