Temporarily located in West Homestead at the Riverplex at Sandcastle sits the Annual Pittsburgh Irish Festival. Taking place the weekend after Labor Day every September, this three-day festival is meant to bring authentic Irish culture to the Pittsburgh community. Founded in 1991, the Pittsburgh Irish Festival has transformed into one of the nation’s finest Irish festivals with some of the most comprehensive exhibits of Irish food, dance, music, and lore. In 2018, the festival brought in more than 25,000 patrons and hundreds of volunteered staff members, making it the most successful one yet.
Nan Krushinski, the Festival’s co-founder and current director, schedules over 28 hours of continuous entertainment from Irish Dance schools such as the Pittsburgh Reelers, Shovlin Academy of Dance, and Burke Conroy School of Irish Dance, to up-and-coming Pittsburgh-based Celtic bands. More famous names like Tommy Makem, Paddy Reilly, and Dermot O’Brien have also graced one of the Festival’s three stages over the years. Besides live entertainment, the Festival offers physical activities such as Irish Hurling demonstrations and Axe-Throwing, educational-based tents such as Genealogy and the Cultural Hedge School, and kid-friendly areas such as Leprechaun’s Landing and the Irish Dog Breed station.
While there are so many kinesthetic activities the Festival provides, one of the most popular attractions is the Irish food and drink available for purchase. Shepherd’s Pie, Soda Bread, and Irish Whiskey stands are frequented by attendees from Friday until Sunday, at the Festival’s end. There is also a Marketplace that sells authentically-crafted Irish jewelry, blankets, metalwork, prayer cards, and other goods. The Pittsburgh Irish Festival is continuously growing, and with its growth comes its success in fulfilling its mission: “contributing to the rich cultural expression of Irish history and tradition that exists in Pittsburgh.”