Galway Days Irish Festival is moving online, bringing its performances, pub and workshops with it Saturday, Aug. 8.
Hosted by the Irish Club of Alaska, the festival will incorporate YouTube, Zoom a virtual pub and a vendor site, according to the organization’s press release.
Performances will be streamed from the main stage via YouTube, including Alaska’s Wings to Fly, Jubilee and The Derry Aires and Irish singers Tommy Sands and Clare Horgan.
From Aug. 1-15, all festival donations will be divided between the performers, helping musicians who cannot tour to earn an income, wrote Peggy Monaghan, president of the Irish Club of Alaska, in an email.
There will be Zoom workshops on Ogham writing, the medieval alphabet of the early Irish language, and Sean-nos, the traditional Irish form of unaccompanied singing. There will also be workshops on the history of Irish in Alaska, Irish fiddle, clog dancing and song circles.
Then there’s the virtual pub, which will consist of a Zoom meeting with breakout rooms. Participants can listen to songs, lectures and stories or “simply sip their beverage of choice and chat,” Monaghan wrote. She expects people from across the country to be checking in.
Arts and crafts will be available for purchase online from local, national and international vendors.
The festival is free and will be held 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8. To register for the online sessions or see schedule details, visit irishalaska.org.
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