With the advent of RiverWorks on the Buffalo River, the large scale event landscape is heading for some serious change along the waterfront. For the first time since its inception, Canalside has some competition. In this case, competition is good, and will ultimately ensure that there is healthy rivalry between the two festival destinations.
Case in point is the 35th Annual Buffalo Irish Festival that will now be held at RiverWorks this summer. It was a coup when the city first landed the Irish Festival (at Canalside).
Now there are at least a couple of options for some of the larger festivals when it comes to the waterfront. Festivals such as the Irish Festival are not simply relegated to one option – they can search out the places that best suit their needs. RiverWorks offers a year round weatherproof solution that ensures that an event will be a success despite rain or snow (without the expense of purchasing a huge tent).
Last year 15,000 people attended the Irish Festival. Those are big numbers that have been growing ever since the event first hit the waterfront. With the festival heading over to RiverWorks, that leaves a weekend slot for another festival to move into a premiere waterfront location – Canalside. It’s an exciting prospect to know that there are now a couple of heavy hitting waterfront festival destinations within walking distance of one another – one at the Inner Harbor and one at the Middle Harbor (a term used in the Irish Festival’s press release).
The Irish Festival will most likely be the first major event to test the complex in a way that will open the doors for others to jump in with bigger and broader ideas. According to the Irish Festival organizers, “The newly popular curling rink (ice removed for the summer, of course) will be home to the Festival’s 30+ vendors of Irish goods and crafts. And the full-sized hockey rink will host one of the main stages, overlooking the wharf area, the docks, and the Buffalo River. This riverfront amphitheater area will easily accommodate over 5,000 guests.”
Already, other events are sniffing around in hopes of landing RiverWorks as a venue site. For example, “The Battle of the Buffalo Beers/Oktoberfest at RiverWorks will be the next project of this collaboration, and will be sponsored in part by the future Hofbrauhaus Buffalo.”
This is going to be an exciting summer for the Buffalo waterfront. With all of the new concert venues, kayak launches, breweries, etc., all located in close proximity to one another, the place to be will be by the water’s edge.
The 35th Annual Buffalo Irish Festival will be held August 28, 29 & 30 of 2015.
Festival food and drink: Irish and American menu, including corned beef and cabbage, Irish lamb stew, Irish bangers and Shepherd’s Pie. And of course, plenty of Guinness Stout, Harp Lager, and Jameson’s Irish Whiskey to supplement the Labatt Blue products.
Balcony VIP season tickets will also be available. For information on ticketing, visit www.BuffaloIrish.com .
*Leading up to the Irish Festival, a Sunday Afternoon Celtic Concert Series will be held for eight straight Sundays (more details to come). Already booked for the Sunday Series are world-renowned groups from Ireland (The High Kings, The Frances Black Band), Canada (Glengarry Bhoys), and the United States (Town Pants, Cherish the Ladies). Festival Weekend entertainment is expected to include the Finbar Furey Band from Ireland, The Elders from Kansas City, The Killdares from Texas, and regulars including the Dady Brothers, Burning Bridget Cleary, Seamus Kennedy and many more.