Festivals
See what it means to be Irish at festival

By Tina Potterf
Seattle Times staff reporter

	TODD PARKER The Irish Week Festival at Seattle Center will feature music, traditional dances, a film festival, workshop, children's activities and more.
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"Our goal is to provide family-oriented entertainment that is entertaining while also allowing those who attend to be exposed to genuine Irish culture, Irish history, language, music and art," Keane, chairman of this year's Irish Week festivities, said via e-mail. "In many ways, it is also an attempt to counteract some of the stereotypes that many people had about the Irish, especially the stereotypes relating to 'Green Beer' and leprechauns."

The Irish Week Festival, with performances, a film festival, history and genealogy workshops and children's activities, started at Seattle Center more than 20 years ago. It gets under way tomorrow with a St. Patrick's Day parade along Fourth Avenue to the Center House, with free monorail service from Westlake to Seattle Center from noon to 3 p.m.

An Irish photo exhibit, workshops and demonstrations of the Irish uilleann pipes (more mellow and versatile than the common bagpipes or war pipes, Keane said), are new additions to the festival.

Event preview Irish Week Festival, noon- 6 p.m. tomorrow and Sunday, Seattle Center, 305 Harrison St., Seattle; free. Special St. Patrick's Day festivities are planned from 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday at Seattle Center. Information: www.irishclub.org/center.htm, www.irishreels.org (film festival) or www.seattlecenter.com.

"Irish Reels," a film festival at the Center House, became part of the Irish Week Festival in 1998 as a way to introduce Seattle audiences to independent films about Ireland that haven't received theatrical release in the U.S., said the film festival's Fidelma McGinn. The films range from feature to short, documentaries to animation by both American and Irish filmmakers.

"What we try to do is showcase a variety of contemporary viewpoints of Irish life, culture and politics," McGinn said. "It's a chance for audiences to be introduced to filmmakers that wouldn't normally be showcased in the omniplexes and to give people a more contemporary look at what it means to be Irish."

There are plenty of activities planned for children as well. For starters, kids can make and learn about the history of Irish round towers, buildings that provided security for people and their possessions during turbulent times, and create festive shamrock refrigerator magnets. And tomorrow, there are contests to find the kids with the "reddest hair," "most freckles" and "best Irish face," among other categories, said Nanci Spieker, a Seattle teacher who oversees the festival's children's programs.

Like the festival as a whole, the events geared toward young people are designed to be fun and educational, Spieker said. "I think it keeps alive the interest in Irish history and Irish culture and the contributions of Ireland to the world in general," she said.

People should attend, Keane said, "mainly to have fun and enjoy themselves, but also knowing that they will share in some of the best of what Ireland and her people have to offer."

Tina Potterf: 206-464-8214 or tpotterf@seattletimes.com

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