The 38th annual Houston International Festival will kick off April 18, this year spotlighting Ireland and featuring three Bellaire-area musical groups.
The festival will run the weekends of April 18-19 and April 25-26 in downtown Houston.
The 2009 event will feature hundreds of internationally-acclaimed artists on 12 performance venues, the most stages to date, throughout the festival site.
Stretching across 16 acres of downtown parks and streets including Houston City Hall, Bagby Street and Tranquility and Sam Houston Parks, this year’s I-Fest will feature seven international entertainment-themed zones including Ireland, International, Target Kids, Texas/Latin, Louisiana, Jamaica presented by Jamaica Tourist Board and African/Caribbean.
Bellaire-Area Performers
Among the performers scheduled are the St. Thomas Episcopal Pipe Band, Ezra Charles and the Works and Therese Honey and Wyndnwyre.
The St. Thomas Pipe Band will perform three times on Saturday, April 25 and three times on Sunday, April 26. On Saturday, the band will be featured at noon on the Gaelic Stage, at 1 p.m. on the Center Stage and at 3 p.m. on the Target International Kid’s Stage. On Sunday, it will perform at noon on the Gaelic Stage, 12:30 p.m. on the Center Stage and 3 p.m. on the Target International Kid’s Stage.
Ezra Charles and the Works will be play on Sunday, April 26 at 1 p.m. on the Louisiana Stage and at 7:30 p.m. on the Chron.com Houston Stage.
Therese Honey and Wyndnwyre will be featured four times on the H-E-B Stage. Performances are scheduled for 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 18; 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 19; 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 25 and 6:30 p.m., April 26.
Ireland Zone
The centerpiece of this year’s event, the Ireland Zone, will bring the culture and history of Ireland to life as city hall and upper Sam Houston Park become an Irish retreat with traditional Irish dancers, literary readings, a reproduction of the Blarney Castle and calligraphy and blacksmithing demonstrations.
Center Stage, a highlight of the Ireland Zone built across the Reflection Pool in front of city hall, will showcase traditional Celtic music and dance. Beoga, a five-piece traditional band from County Down will take the stage, as well as Cherish the Ladies, and Scotland’s Julie Fowlis.
They will be joined each night by an all-star team of Houston’s championship Irish dancers, drawn from the local troupes McTeggart, O’Maoileidigh and Cass. In addition, festival-goers will enjoy a traditional Irish pub situated across from Center Stage, serving up Irish pub food and brew and performances by regional Celtic and Irish artists.
Upper Sam Houston Park will be transformed into the Chevron Ireland Living Museum featuring a 20-ft. tall replica of the legendary Blarney Castle, a world landmark built nearly 600 years ago by one of Ireland’s greatest chieftains. As part of the festival’s reproduction, visitors will be allowed to kiss the Blarney Stone, which entails hanging upside-down to kiss the stone and is said to endow the kisser with the gift of eloquence.
The Ancient Ireland exhibit will feature a reproduction of an Irish Crannog, an ancient settlement/artificial island built for fortification; as well as blacksmith demonstrations; exhibits on ancient Irish history; and wattling demonstrations, the traditional method of weaving walls and fences.
Those attending will also be able to enjoy the Gaelic Stage honoring the ongoing ancestral connections between Ireland and the Irish in America with step-dance lessons, story-telling bards, harps and marching bagpipe parades. Additional displays in the Chevron Living Museum will showcase the Golden Age of Christianity depicting the history of religion in Ireland; the Flight of the Earls representing the end of the old Gaelic era; an Irish literature station with four literary readings daily, the history of the Gaelic language and listening stations and Ireland today featuring contemporary Ireland with information on northern Ireland, the troubles and samples of famous murals.
The H-E-B Cultural Stage will showcase dance performances, cuisines of Ireland and Irish dance costumes dating back to the Book of Kells. Celebrity and local chefs will present cooking demonstrations and readings during multiple daily performances.
International Markets and Food
More than 500 artists from around the world will exhibit and sell a large array of handmade arts and crafts in eight arts markets scattered throughout several blocks of the festival site.
Food from more than 50 of Houston’s restaurants and caterers will also offer international cuisine.
Events
The Festival will also host several additional events including an opening ceremony to kick off the festival at 11 a.m. Friday, April 17, followed by a free lunchtime concert at city hall. The Mayor’s Gala, a fundraiser for the festival’s year-round arts, education and outreach programs, will be held Thursday, April 16.
Festival Hours
The 2009 Houston International Festival will take place Saturdays Noon – 10 p.m. and Sundays Noon – 9 p.m.
Ticket Information
Tickets are now on sale online at www.ifest.org and at all area H-E-B stores. All proceeds benefit I-Fest arts and education programs.
Thu, Apr 2, 2009
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