Koroit Irish Festival makes 2021 return

The iconic event on the weekend of April 30 to May 2 celebrates everything great about the small Irish settler town's roots and history.

Festival president Adele MacDonald said it had been a long process trying to organise the weekend around coronavirus restrictions.

"We've got the tick of approval and we're really excited to deliver the 2021 Koroit Irish Festival," she said.

"We were very disappointed we had to cancel last year's event and can't wait for the Irish festival weekend to have a big celebration not only of everything Irish but also to celebrate everything we missed out on last year.

"I think people will really rally together to make this Koroit Irish Festival the best one ever."

Due to COVID rules all attendees must purchase tickets online.

The 2021 event will feature all the festival favourites, including the spud picking and spud peeling competitions, street procession, Flaming Folk Parade, stout brewing competition and the Australian Danny Boy Championship with a $1000 prize on offer for the best take on one of Ireland's most famous songs.

Some changes to this year's festival will include the moving of the Friday night concert from the Koroit Theatre to the Koroit Basketball Stadium.

Ms MacDonald said this decision was made due to the extra capacity of the stadium.

The Koroit Theatre will be in use on Saturday, with the Danny Boy Championships and a performance from the world champion Christine Ayres School of Irish Dancing among the featured acts.

A newcomer to the festival this is the band Austral, one of rising stars of the Celtic music scene in Australia.

Before the pandemic, Austral was making its mark, with the band winning rave reviews for its performance at the world-renowned Woodford Folk Festival.

Former Melbourne Rose of Tralee Clair Lynch will also be a guest at the festival, with this visit part of the program in place to mark the festival's 2021 theme, Celebrating Irish-Australian Women.

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"On Friday night there will be a special tribute to Tuddy Bowman who was so well loved," Ms MacDonald said. "It's going to be such a different festival without him.

"There will be dancing, comedy, singing, stalls, buskers, and more.

"It's going to be a weekend jam-packed full of Irish madness and fun for the whole family and people of all ages.

"This will be the 25^th anniversary of the Koroit Irish Fesitval and we're working hard to make this a very special event."

The event will kick off early on Thursday night with The Irish Festival Book Club reading Irish novel 'Milkman' by Anna Burns and heading to Noodledoof to discuss key themes and reflections with fellow book lovers.

There will also be bus pick up points in Port Fairy, Killarney and Warrnambool.

"As part of our COVIDSafe Plan, ticket numbers for this year are limited and our aim is to sell as many as we can online prior to the event," Ms MacDonald said.

"Tickets are selling rapidly so if you want to make sure you are part of the fun, get online now.

"For those who have held their tickets over from 2020, don't panic we have it all on our database. We will be in touch soon and if you have any questions feel free to drop us a line.

"Thanks again for your unwavering support, it is what keeps our hard-working committee going."

Tickets can be secured here.

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