Description

Celebrating its seventh anniversary and fifth year with the grand final day celebration at Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site, Irish Fest Camden will be staged on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

The event is one of the primary fundraisers for Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Camden. Last year, more than 6,000 patrons attended the celebration of all things Celtic.

The day-long, family friendly event features food and beverage vendors spread through the expansive grounds including an authentic Irish pub featuring Shepherd’s Pie. The Highland Games, a staple of the festival since its start, brings together athletes from throughout the Southeast to compete in such events as the open stone throw, the Braemer Stone throw, the Sheaf and the light and heavy hammer toss have piqued the interest of festival-goers, many of whom are getting their first look at these unique athletic events. 

Stations featuring soda, water, beer, coffee and Irish coffee, along with a whiskey-tasting event will also be part of the festivities as will a kids’ zone. There will also be other vendors offering a multitude of food and drink options spread throughout the grounds.

One of the main attractions of the day is live music and this year Enter the Haggis, a Toronto-based Celtic rock band, makes their first appearance in Camden and at Irishfest Camden.

Festival favorite Syr, a Celtic folk rock band from Columbia which takes inspiration from Celtic history, stories and myth and blends them with their own unique take for a high-energy performance, returns to the festival for a seventh straight year. A newcomer on the bill for 2023 are the Byrne Brothers, a multi award-winning family band and Irish dancers hailing from Donegal, Ireland, who now call Orlando, Fla. home and who, in 2018, became the youngest cast members in Walt Disney World history.

Admission into the main event it $15 for adults and $5 for children ages two through 12 and free for infants a year old and younger.

Two other IFC events return to the calendar, again, in 2023:

* The Friday night Pub Crawl, sponsored by Downtown Camden, presents a night of live music at various venues in downtown Camden on Friday, March 3 from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. A complete list of participating sites and performers will be forthcoming.

* One of the most popular events of the festival is the sixth annual Lucky Leprechaun 5K race/walk to be run at 8 a.m. on Saturday, March 4 at the Town Green in Camden. Registration is currently taking place online at: runsignup.com/Race/SC/Camden/LuckyLeprechaunSC5K.

For more information about the week-long festival in Camden, please log onto www. Irishfestcamden.com.