Milwaukee Irish Fest
Milwaukee Irish Fest (locally known as Irish Fest) is a yearly Irish-American festival held at the Henry Maier Festival Park, on Lake Michigan, United States, every third weekend in August. Over 130,000 people attend the Fest each year to watch nearly 250 acts on 17 stages. The four-day festival started in 1981, founded by Edward J. Ward. Irish Fest is the largest of the ethnic festivals held at the Summerfest grounds which report attendance, and holds claim to the largest celebration of Irish Culture in the world.
Festival highlights include: Performances from local Milwaukee Irish Dance troupes
Music from nearly 250 artists from around the world, sung in both English and Irish
Stages for Céilí dancing
An area to learn Céilí dance
Celebrations of Irish sport:Gaelic Football, Hurling, and Currach racing
Authentic Irish Cuisine
A 5k Run/Walk to the festival
Poetry and photography contests
Liturgy for Peace and Justice held in the Marcus Amphitheater on Sunday morning
The annual closing event is the Scattering, a gathering of many of the festival's musicians playing together in one combined session, with fifty or more musicians on the stage at one time not uncommon.
Irish Fest celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2005, which saw the opening of the new Celtic Roots stage. President of Ireland, Mary McAleese also attended that year's fest. There was no Irish Fest in 2020 as officials cited the COVID-19 pandemic as grounds for scrapping most events & moving others online.

== External links ==
Official Milwaukee Irish Fest website
Official Milwaukee Irish Fest Mobile website