Next Meeting March 6, 7:30pm @ Charlie Hooper's, Brookside

Results from election of officers are in

Voting for new officers for 2007 took place at the December Celtic Fringe meeting at Charlie Hooper's and the results are in. The new officers are….

• Stevan Ryan : president
• Mike Armstrong : vice president
• Jayme Wear: secretary
• Rory O'Connor: treasurer
• Paul Byrne: newsletter editor
• Daneil Armstrong : membership & historian

All Invited! Irish Museum and Cultural Center to Open St. Patrickıs Day

The exciting day is nearly here! Kansas Cityıs Irish Museum and Cultural Center will open its new space in Union Station on St. Patrickıs Day, March 17, 2007. All are invited to help create this home for Kansas Cityıs Irish community. The remodeled Zephyr Room (lower level, west wing) includes a cultural education center, conference/meeting room, permanent and rotating exhibit space, library/archives/resource center, childrenıs area, genealogy resources and more.

The Grand Opening Day Celebration on St. Patrickıs Day will include:

Opening Day, all day, 9 am - 4 pm, free open house and opening exhibit. The Center will be open all day for hot chocolate and coffee, refreshments, browsing, genealogy lookups and an inaugural exhibit of Kansas City Irish produced by Irish Fest friends.

Ribbon Cutting, 10 - 10:15 am, Union Station. Winners of an essay contest (250 words or less) open to all age 16 and younger and age 61 and older on the topic ³My Irish American Family² will be our ribbon cutters and ride in the IMCC car in the Kansas City St. Patrickıs Day Parade. The two winners represent the linking of generations and heritage the IMCC seeks to serve through the Irish Center.
The piper, Parade kick-off singer John OıNeal, the ribbon cutters and all other parade participants and viewers attending the ribbon cutting will, at 10:15, march from the Center front doors, up and out Union Station to their respective spots to begin the Kansas City St. Patrickıs Day Parade.

Opening Day Celebration, 1 - 4 pm (after parade), free family activities. The traditional Irish band Kelly, OıRiada Irish dancers, an Irish storyteller, an intergenerational family history project and childrenıs crafts will fill the afternoon. All our welcome to see, enjoy and help support this home.
We're told by Union Station officials the former Fitz's Root Beer restaurant will be open as an Irish pub this weekend (not permanently yet), so come try it out!

Regarding driving and parking: To park in Union Stationıs garage (not in the front, but in the new garage on the West side), from the South, come up Kessler (the West side of Liberty Memorial), turn left on Pershing and right into Union Stationıs garage lot. From the North, come down Broadway, turn left on Pershing and left into Union Stationıs garage lot. Unless they change it, the weekend parking will be free. Union Station will have crowds attending The Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit this weekend as well. Walk in from the garage on the ground level and the Center will be just past ticketing on your right.

Just a reminder...

Float building time is around the corner! The 2007 St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee made it official. Celebrating St. Patrick in Kansas City is the parade theme. Have a stout and start planning!

Celtic Fringe Irish Person of the Year

A question was posed recently as to who could name the Celtic Fringe Irish Person of the Year for every year that the Fringe has been in existance. Well here is the list courtesy of Rory O'Connor. And congratulations to the 2006 winner, John O'Neal

• 1995 Liz O Boyle
• 1996 Ed Scanlon
• 1997 Ronan Collins
• 1998 Dan O Boyle
• 1999 Mary Alice Beebe
• 2000 Dan Regan
• 2001 Barbra Scanlon
• 2002 PJ Cullinan
• 2003 Pat Manning
• 2004 Rory O Connor
• 2005 Mike Casey
• 2006 John O Neal

And finally....

The next Celtic Fringe meeting will be March 6, at Charlie Hoopers in Brookside, starting at 7:30pm. This will be an important one as we will be discussing activities for St Patrick's day so we hope to see you all there.