City: Gettysburg, PA

Category: Annual Events & Festivals

Telephone: (717) 337-3500

Address: 100 Moose Road

Description: This festival celebrates all things Irish by showcasing Irish bands and music, Irish dance, Irish food, Irish beer, and Irish crafts. Entertainment also includes Civil War reenactment groups and sword-fighting demonstrations, and Irish wolfhounds eager to be petted are usually on hand. Begun in 1999, it’s held at Gettysburg Moose Park, which is off U.S. Route 30 about 1.5 miles east of its intersection with U.S. Route 15. Proceeds from the festival benefit Children’s Friendship Project for Northern Ireland (www.cfpni.org), a program that promotes interaction between Catholic and Protestant teenagers of Northern Ireland. The committee also hopes to eventually open an Adams County Irish History Museum and Library to research family names and collect artifacts. Festivalgoers are encouraged to bring a blanket or chair and ample amounts of sunscreen so they can sit back and relax for the day. Cost is $10, and children younger than age 12 are admitted for free. There’s no charge for parking. The festival is the oldest and largest Irish festival in south central Pennsylvania, and more than 3,000 people attended the event in 2007.