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Milwaukee Irish Fest transferring ahead with three-day occasion in August

Summerfest, PrideFest, Polish Fest, German Fest and Festa Italiana have already postponed or canceled their plans for 2021.

But the Milwaukee Irish Fest is still in August, officials said on Wednesday.

The board of the festival’s parent company, CelticMKE, decided in a meeting on Tuesday evening to hold a personal event in Maier Festival Park. This emerges from an email CelticMKE Executive Director Mike Mitchell sent to Irish Fest supporters on Wednesday. The organization confirmed the news on Wednesday evening on Facebook.

The Irish festival is scheduled for August 20-22 and lasts three days instead of the usual four days for this 40th anniversary.

“Our festival prep is about prioritizing the wellbeing and safety of our customers, volunteers, salespeople, entertainers and employees,” said Mitchell in a press release released early Wednesday evening. “With the introduction of vaccinations, we are comfortable taking the steps to create an Irish experience this summer that is safe for everyone to enjoy.”

“We will do everything we can to ensure a safe environment,” continued Mitchell. “We will make any necessary adjustments to our operations and change the layout to comply with regulations, restrictions, and recommendations as of the date of issue.” our festival. ”

Irish festival officials said there will be disinfection stations across the site and the festival will improve its cleaning protocols.

The festival had around 100,000 visitors in 2019, but capacity this year may be limited, according to the press release. Officials are urging festival goers to buy tickets when they go on sale in the coming weeks to guarantee entry.

Mask requirements, rapid tests, and vaccination records are possible concepts discussed by event industry executives for the first U.S. festivals since the pandemic began, but no hard and fast protocol has been drawn up.

A line-up will be posted later this spring, and a schedule will be posted this summer.

The Milwaukee Irish Fest is planning a face-to-face event from August 20-22.

Like practically every other summer event in the City of Festivals last year, a personal Irish festival has been canceled in 2020. Instead, officials organized a 33-hour virtual festival last August, a mix of new remote performances and presentations, and archive concert material that had more than 42,000 views and helped offset the $ 200,000 already spent on the scrapped personal event had been. According to the press release, a virtual component will also be available this year.

Given the ongoing uncertainty, most of the rallies in Milwaukee for May, June and July have been canceled or postponed.

The German Festival, the Polish Festival, the Festa Italiana, the Locust Street Festival for Music and Art and the Milwaukee Highland Games have been canceled for the second time in a row. The June Lakefront Festival of Art is virtual only, PrideFest organizers have dropped plans for June in hopes of hosting an event in October, and the Summer Festival has been postponed from June and July to three weekends in September. And a postponed Kenny Chesney concert at American Family Field will again be postponed to 2022.

However, with vaccination rates soaring, there is hope that the country will be able to achieve herd immunity by late summer, making big festivals possible again. The previous Wednesday, Bonnaroo in Tennessee had announced a stacked line-up for September 2-5, led by Foo Fighters, Lizzo, Megan Thee Stallion and Tyler, The Creator. Billie Eilish, Green Day and Tame Impala to headline the Life Is Beautiful festival in Las Vegas in September, while other major events such as the Governor’s Ball in New York, Outside Lands in San Francisco and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival announced dates for them have September and October.

The Maier Festival Park is closer to home and has several events on the calendar in late summer and autumn, including the Mexican Fiesta and the Black Arts Fest MKE in August as well as five concerts in the reconstructed American Family Insurance Amphitheater from July to September, the headliners of the summer festival not yet included for this September to be confirmed. But as the pandemic continues, that calendar will remain tentative.

CONNECTED:Big festivals have already been postponed. Here’s what must happen to save Milwaukee’s summer.

CONNECTED:Here is the status of the major Milwaukee festivals and fairs in 2021 as the pandemic continues

CONNECTED:Wisconsin venues are getting a lifeline from Washington and Madison, but big questions remain about the return of live music

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.

Piet also talks to Jordan Lee about concerts, local music and more about “TAP’d In”. Listen to it on WYMS-FM (88.9) at 8 a.m. on Thursdays or wherever you get your podcasts.

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