UPDATE: HOBOKEN IRISH FESTIVAL: Cancelled Due to “Irish” Weather—SATURDAY, MAY 19th

UPDATE: We want it to be authentic, but Saturday’s forecast is unfortunately a bit too authentic for an Irish festival, with rain coming down all day long… so sadly, the City has announced that this event has been cancelled.

The Sunrise Walk to benefit Solace House, however, is still on—rain or shine…

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While the Hoboken St. Patrick’s Day Parade remains on indefinite hiatus, members of the Hoboken Irish-American community have worked with the City of Hoboken to develop the “Hoboken Irish Festival.” It’s a certainly a family friendly alternative to the perennial mess that is the LepreCon, and while there is beer to be enjoyed, none of it is green.

Over the years, the event has now garnered the support of Irish Network New Jersey, Irish Network USA and the Consulate General of Ireland. The original intent of the organizers was for the event to serve as a placeholder, not a replacement for the Hoboken St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

This year, the event is preceded by a Sunrise Walk to benefit Solace House, an organization that grew out of Ireland to provide free one-on-one therapy for people who are in suicidal distress, those who engage in self-harm and people who are bereaved by suicide.

Then at noon, the festivities kick off with live music from Gold n’ Brown, as well as Blarney Stew & Clan Suibhne.

Gold N’ Brown

“Playing the Hoboken Irish Festival is a completely different feeling than when playing the first Saturday in March—which we proudly do every year at Willie McBrides,” said Gold n’ Brown’s Liam Brown, in a 2015 interview with hMAG. “The Hoboken Irish Festival is not a day of debauchery. And as an Irishman here in the states it’s nice to see that our heritage and culture is what is being celebrated.”

In addition to the music, there will be Irish step dancing by Garden Street Irish Step Dancers & Emerald Fire & Kerri Smith Academy of Irish Dance.

There’s also some terrific Irish food, and the all-important Beer Garden—provided once again by our good friends at Finnegan’s Irish Pub.

So come on down, for the craic…

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