Celebrating
Being Irish in Santa Barbara
By FBWorld Team
The
Saint Patrick's Celebration in the City of Santa Barbara is
always packed with green fun, including parties, dinners at
restaurants featuring Irish fare, parades, and special fundraising
events with an Irish flavor.
The
City of Santa Barbara currently has a variety of Sister City
Programs that tie a variety of world destinations with the popular
California seaside city, and Dingle, Ireland is one of the committees
who provided a unique St. Patrick's Day celebration this year
that included the very talented Ceile Rua Irish dance troupe
from the Gaelic League, a delicious authentic corned beef dinner
with Irish soda bread, salad made with garden greens, and Guinness
to wash it all down.
Cathy
Murillo, Mayor of Santa Barbara, attended the 2019 Santa Barbara/Dingle
St. Pat's dinner and was charmed by the evening activities and
said "it's so nice to spend an evening with such a nice
group celebrating St. Pat's without anyone getting too tipsy."
Everyone tried to speak Gaelic using pamphlets from The Gaelic
League of LA, and a few of the guests, including the Mayor,
joined the Ceile Rua Irish dancers for a festive Irish reel.
The dinner was prepared by the Pilgrim Terrace Chef Pete Clements
and his team, with vegetables and lettuce coming from the abundant
city garden located on the property.
A
large group of Dingle Committee members had traveled to Ireland
last year as a group and during the party they shared tales
of their wonderful experiences in their sister city Dingle.
It was interesting to talk with board member John Mc Nally,
who is extremely active in the Irish-American community in Ventura,
California and is an active participant in the St. Patrick's
Day Parade in that nearby community. It was a grand evening
full of fun for all who attended to share the evening with the
Dingle Ireland enthusiasts.
Barbara & Mary Ireland at Barbara Ireland Walk/Run for Breast
Cancer
Barbara
Ireland and her daughters Kathy and Mary got the Annual Barbara
Ireland Walk/Run for Breast Cancer event off to a great start
at Fess Parker Children's Park at 8:00 a.m., where walker and
runner participants enjoyed delicious catered green salads,
water, fruit and coffee following the annual event. For year's
John Ireland, Barbara Ireland's husband was the organizations
best cheerleader. Sadly, he passed away last year and Barbara
said "I did not know if I could do it without John, but
everyone encouraged me to keep it going." Each year the
entire Ireland family show up to walk along with doctors Kass
and Kugel from Santa Barbara Cancer Center and representatives
from the Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara to raise funds for
Breast Cancer research.
Dargan's Was Serving Perfect Pints
Paul
Dargan's Irish Pub on Ortega Street was a hub for Irish music
and dancing, where they served their usual outstanding St. Pat's
dishes and beverages including Irish stew and corned beef served
with perfectly poured Guinness. Willie Quinn former owner of
a wonderful Irish restaurant on State Street, along with daughter
Bridget and Sean Pierce performed at Dargan's Pub as well as
the Santa Inez Old Mission near Solvang, where their performance
was followed by one of Willie & Trini Quinn's fantastic
Irish dinners.
The
Independent News Paper sponsored their annual Santa Barbara
St. Pat's Parade up State Street that attracted a crowd of marchers,
and James Joyce Pub was pouring all day. The Kimpton Canary
Hotel held a great party on their Rooftop where they served
corned beef sandwiches and Irish brew. The Ensemble Theatre
group presented an Irish inspired concert that locals enjoyed
and all in all it was a grand weekend for wearin' green and
feelin' Irish in Santa Barbara. Erin go Bragh!
By Bonnie Carroll
About Bonnie Carroll
Bonnie Carroll has been a food/travel/lifestyle writer since
1983. She is the founder & publisher of Bonnie Carroll's
Life Bites News - www.lifebitesnews.com,
does travel and food reporting on KZSB1290 radio, and contributes
to a variety of national and international travel/lifestyle
publications. Her first children's book C.C. Charles was published
in 2002 and she is currently working on a second book. Contact
her at Contact her at writebc@aol.com.