By Christopher Johnson
This past weekend, Clare celebrated its 50th anniversary of the annual Irish Festival and welcomed an attendance of record numbers. For three days, the main artery of town became a sprawl of green shirts and hometown pride. Hosting between ten and thirteen thousand visitors who showed up to be Irish for a weekend. According to local businesses, it was a turnout of the likes that had never been seen up north.
“It’s a great shot in the arm for Clare”, says Dean Doherty, the hotel’s longtime president.
“After a slow winter, this kind of kicks off our summer season”.
Kitchens such as that of the Doherty Hotel, had been working to exhaustion to keep mouths fed as the weekend progressed. In addition to more business than ever, the family-owned establishment remains a constant anchor for the influx of foot traffic and festivities.
“We thought it was very successful,” Dean reflects. “The food business, we couldn’t take any more. We have the advantage of having more space than the average little tavern so we can do different kinds of entertainment to attract different kinds of clientele, or demographics.”
In a landscape of high political tensions, it’s reassuring to learn that not a single instance of divisive tension soured a minute of the festival in or around the hotel.
Despite the favorable results well into an icy Sunday, management is relieved now that things have quieted down, remarking that a recovery period is much needed for very winded, but amazing staff.
Nearby, another hotbed of constant demand was Cops and Doughnuts . Remarkably, the bakery’s ovens had been working harder than the law enforcement as little to no disturbances arose during all three evenings of the festival. In fact, the town’s horse mounted officers couldn’t have been in better spirits, as the synergy between both partiers and police remained cordial and trusting all throughout the weekend. Even the backlots and alleyways of town felt safe, locals report, and people seemed to appreciate the well patrolled, respectful atmosphere.
Jane Sartor has been an original Irish festival committee member since 1975 and also helps run the city’s art council and was the parade’s Grand Marshal in 2004. In addition to being one of the community’s busiest, most involved women of her age (91), she also helped judge Witbeck’s leprechaun contest on Saturday. An event she reflects on quite jubilantly with contestants as young as newborns.
“I had never seen so many people”, Jane reflects about the festival’s attendance. Comparing it to one other instance she recalls from the 90s that she describes as a beautiful winter. “Everybody was in short sleeves, no wind, Just sun. But this year, unlike that year, both sides of the street were lined up instead of just one.”
According to authorities, the congestion was so thick during the parade, crowds were allowed to expand their range to the double traffic line instead of the usual single line. The parade itself ran long and generously, featuring just about every community voice and youth organization imaginable. Even the floats were enjoying a sort of glow up that both entertained and marveled the crowd in ways usually limited by otherwise frigid weather. But this time, with a desertlike, warm haze in the air, everybody was dressed as their best, most comfortable selves as they meandered and mingled amidst a loaded schedule of constant stimulation.
“On the night of the Drone Show, there were between fifteen hundred to two thousand people between these two blocks just here for the drone show.”, adds Greg Rynearson, commenting on one of several new Irish Festival traditions. The demonstration featured impressive aerial choreography provided by Starlight Productions, with at least 350 units lighting up the night sky in spectacular arrangements. It was a upward marvel only comparable to Clare’s annual firework display later on in July, and is expected to become a regular event in the years going forward. Additionally, the Chelsea House Orchestra, Irish Comedy Tour, and the Unapiper also joined the program as new features.
Around town, the bars couldn’t have asked for better weather. Take Timeout Tavern for example, a more upscale atmosphere that also serves as a reputable watering hole for day drinkers and bar crawlers alike.
“It’s the busiest we’ve ever been,” recounts owner Tim Veenkant. “I bartended from 9 in the morning to 11:30 at night with maybe two 5-minute breaks. Normally we’ll have lulls where we can make 20 grasshoppers and then send them out to tables. We just never had a lull to make any extra.”
In addition to iconic green beer, the menu boasted festive specials such as corned beef and cabbage dinners. Sandwich sales were in record breaking demand.
“Yes, we sell tons of alcohol, but on Patty’s day we focus more on feeding people,” Tim explains, reporting the sale of 146 Reuben sandwiches on just Saturday alone.
Thanks to the perfect weather, the finer dining establishment was able to draw open its streetside partition for the first in a long time, enhancing its communal aesthetic all the more fittingly as people came and went in droves. Live music added an extra layer of entertainment to the otherwise very relaxed atmosphere the Tavern is known for.
“We’re not like a super party bar.” explains Tim. “We want people to come here, relax, and feel like they’re at home and just listen to music and chill.”
To further reinforce their mission statement, the Clare Chamber recently recognized the Tavern’s interior as its first place winner for the Business Decorating Contest, while its exterior placed second next to Elaine’s Hair and Nails salon. So if you ask anybody in town who has enjoyed a dish or drink at the Timeout Tavern, you’ll learn it’s unanimously a great place to budget into any Up North holiday.
“Everybody was in a great mood”, Tim prides, “the weather cooperated perfectly, and I didnt have to ask anybody to leave. Couldn’t have asked for a better weekend.”
Similarly, Ruckles Pier was just as pleasantly overwhelmed. Located at the southernmost edge of the party zone, people were lining up outside with staff having to mind the door as a full-time job. Being known for a rowdier energy, management can only place one disruption amidst the clamor of bodies, and it was resolved swiftly and peacefully.
“It’s a lot of work but it’s an amazing weekend for us.” says owner Jason Ricketts. “With the support of the locals and all the people coming to town, it really gives us that boost in the winter when we just don’t have it.”
And then there’s the Whitehouse, another key landmark always buzzing around this time of year. Despite being probably the smallest kitchen in town, it nonetheless commands enormous respect and finds honorable mention whenever crowds gather.
In addition to serving some of the best home cooked burgers you’ll ever taste, they are also very active members of the community. They were particularly busy this past weekend too, with a loaded schedule of contests such as one for burger eating and a coloring contest for the kiddos. The latter of which you can find submissions now pinned all across the restaurant’s walls, which are already vibrating with history and personality.
The White House also remained open for 24 hours on Friday and Saturday which is a real treat considering the business no longer operates 24-7 like it used to in the past. This really ignited some extra sales and much revered nostalgia from many returning patrons.
“No matter where they go, how far, with everybody so spread out, or what their beliefs are, everybody converges back it seems like,” says Paul Weissend, the diner’s owner. “It’s like the mating of the sea turtles. You know, they always come back to that one beach to lay their eggs. It’s kind of like that.”
Overall, it was a weekend worthy of a 50th anniversary stamp and a return to form in ways for everybody after trying years. A polished emerald of good times with good people, without so much as a blemish of conflict amidst the largest turnout to date.
