Downtown Dayton's biggest weekend

The band Gaelic Storm became world famous in 1997 when they appeared in the movie Titanic. They have been a Dayton Celtic Fest regular for the past 25 years.

Dayton's 25th annual Celtic Festival happened this past weekend and was perhaps their most successful one in a quarter century. The free event takes place each year at RiverScape MetroPark on the banks of the Miami River for three days, Friday-Sunday. It's presented by United Irish of Dayton and is a July version of a St. Patrick's Day party for downtown Dayton. I've been attending over the past six years and every festival keeps me coming back for more. My DNA origins are 12% Celtic, so I can legitimately say these are my people.

City officials estimate the Celtic Fest crowd at 90,000 attendees over the weekend

Almost too pretty to drink

Starting on the corner of Monument Avenue and Patterson Boulevard, 40 food and merchandise vendors stretched for two full blocks. My favorite meal this year was the Dublin Pub Rueben and world famous cheese fries. There was even a free shuttle bus for festival-goers wanting a transport to the actual Dublin Pub restaurant over on 5th Street for an authentic experience. 

That sandwich and fries had plenty of beverage options too, including a Celtic Fest Red Ale brewed by Breckenridge Brewery that became my go-to most of the weekend. The coolest beer of the weekend though had nothing to do with temperature, rather artwork. There was a dedicated Guinness beer tent that had several "Stoutie" machines. After you purchased a Guinness beer with a nitro foam head, you could walk over to the machine and have a free design printed in the foam. There was standard Guinness logos, as well as custom printed images if you downloaded their QR code. The whole process took about 20-30 seconds. It was a neat gimmick that was fun for about one or two beers.

The Elders will soon play 11 shows in Ireland from October 16-26

Shannon O'Shea was a 

contestant on America's 

Got Talent back in 2016

The best thing about Celtic Fest is of course the music. Three stages hosted a variety of local and national performers in both Irish song and dance. Included were headliners Gaelic Storm, The Elders, Socks in the Frying Pan, The Drowsy Lads, Davy Holt, and Bastard Bearded Irishmen. Gaelic Storm is wildly popular and have been regulars at Celtic Fest since the early years. After starting as just a pub band from Santa Monica, California in the 1990's, today they travel the country singing stories from more than a dozen of the albums they've released. Lead vocalist Patrick Murphy is the only remaining original member of the band, but still a treat to watch after all these years at age 55. He's a true Irishman and perhaps even a little rowdy. After playing an earlier 8:00pm show on Friday, Murphy and Gaelic Storm closed the festival on both Saturday and Sunday.

My personal favorite though was a six-person band based out of Kansas City, Missouri. The Elders travel the globe and last played Dayton's Celtic Fest more than 10 years ago. They were thrilled to return to the Gem City. How do I know? When I was standing in line for that Rueben sandwich with my wife, the person directly behind us was The Elders fiddler, Shannon O'Shea. She chatted like we were old friends. O'Shea talked about her family back home, including her mother that encouraged her daughter to start playing fiddle at a young age. With an Irish name like O'Shea, she explained she couldn't quit! It was a neat moment before The Elders took the stage to close after Gaelic Storm.

They were no Irish sing-alongs at Pins across from Day Air Ballpark, but it was a full house like most other bars in the area

In addition to the massive Celtic Fest crowd, the Dayton Dragon were home all weekend at Day Air Ballpark just around the block. That brought another 7,000 folks each night. Local eateries and watering holes like Pins Mechanical, The Foundry, Brixx Ice Company, Mikey's Late Night Slice, and others enjoyed the huge influx of customers. It was great to see downtown Dayton bustling with business on the biggest weekend of the year. If you'd like to attend in 2027, the dates are July 30-August 1.

Irish shenanigans a few seconds before the collapse!