Riverfront Irish Festival bringing mix of familiar and new music acts to Cuyahoga Falls

April Helms, Akron Beacon Journal
·3 min read
The annual Riverfront Irish Festival is June 9 through 11. The first Riverfront Irish Festival was in 1993, and a downtown Cuyahoga Falls event through 2018. The festival made its return in 2021.
The annual Riverfront Irish Festival is June 9 through 11. The first Riverfront Irish Festival was in 1993, and a downtown Cuyahoga Falls event through 2018. The festival made its return in 2021.

Irish flags will be waving, Irish dancers will be dancing and Irish music will be playing in downtown Cuyahoga Falls this weekend for the 2023 Riverfront Irish Festival.

The free event will take place Friday through Sunday, and includes free parking.

More information on the festival: Cuyahoga Falls announces road closure ahead of Riverfront Irish Festival set for June 9

What are some of the highlights of the Riverfront Irish Festival?

The event, which is sponsored by the St. Brendan Division #3 Summit County Ancient Order of Hibernians, an Irish-Catholic fraternal order, features two stages of music: the Amphitheater Stage, near the downtown Pavilion, and the Riverfront Stage, in Lot 107 at Riverfront Parkway and Portage Trail.

Entertainment will include favorites like Cleveland’s Mary’s Lane, Brigid’s Cross, The New Barleycorn and Westside Steve; Dulahan from Dayton, and Akron’s Callahan & O’Connor, Case & Cairde, and Celtic Rush.

New acts for this year's festival include Toronto’s Michael Darcy and the Atlantic Tramps, who were recently nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award; Baltimore’s Celtic rockers Poehemia; Kalamazoo’s On The Lash; Pittsburgh’s The Low Kings; and Akron’s Minstrels Grēn and Emigrant’s Wake.

Several bands are scheduled to play on two available stages at this year's Riverfront Irish Festival.
Several bands are scheduled to play on two available stages at this year's Riverfront Irish Festival.

There also is an Irish Market Place with traditional Irish and American fare, as well as Irish step-dancers from MacConmara Academy, who will perform on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The Celtic Eagle Pipe Band and The Red Hackle Pipe and Drums also will play.

Several area craft breweries will be on hand, such as Akronym, HiHo, Ignite, McArthur’s, Missing Falls and Missing Mountain — as well as Forever Craft Urban Winery. There also will be a whiskey tasting station featuring Jameson and Tullamore D.E.W. from Ireland and local Towpath Distillery bourbon.

On Sunday, the Rev. Thomas McCann will lead a Roman Catholic Mass, starting at 11 a.m. in the amphitheater.

Irish step-dancers from MacConmara Academy will showcase their dancing skills at the Riverfront Irish Festival this weekend.
Irish step-dancers from MacConmara Academy will showcase their dancing skills at the Riverfront Irish Festival this weekend.

Where do the proceeds from the festival go?

Profits from the Riverfront Irish Festival are donated to charitable organizations. After last year’s festival, funds were given to the Cuyahoga Falls Instrumental Music Program Band Boosters, Boy Scout Troop 7153, Friends of Camp Christopher, and Akron Celtic Guard Hurling Club.

Michael Namsick, the chairman for the Riverfront Irish Festival, said that the festival awarded two music scholarships to graduating seniors at Cuyahoga Falls High School. The committee also has established a scholarship for Archbishop Hoban High School and is planning to do the same for St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, he added.

https://www.downtowncf.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/NORTH%20FRONT.png

file:///C:/Users/April%20K.%20Helms/Downloads/Irish%20Festival%20Map.pdf

What are the hours for the festival?

The 2023 Riverfront Irish Festival will take place from 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and from noon to 11 p.m. Saturday. Sunday's festivities pick up immediately following the outdoor Mass and run until 7 p.m.

The festival's concourse runs on Front Street between Broad Boulevard and Portage Trail. That stretch of road will be closed to traffic from 6 p.m. Thursday through 1 a.m. Monday.

For details, visit http://www.riverfrontirishfest.org, or the festival's Facebook page.

Support local journalism: 6 reasons why you should subscribe to the Akron Beacon Journal

Reporter April Helms can be reached at ahelms@thebeaconjournal.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Riverfront Irish Festival returns to Cuyahoga Falls this weekend