Celtic celebration benefits sesquicentennial plans

16 years ago
By Barbara Scott
Staff Writer

    Mark Friday, Feb. 27, on your calendar — mark it in green. It’s not St. Patrick’s Day, but the wearing of the green will be acceptable when Caribou and Presque Isle’s 150th celebration committees and the Council of the Arts co-host an authentic Irish event at the Caribou Performing Arts Center.     These groups have planned a unique Irish Dinner and a spectacular Irish collection of music and dancing entertainment beginning at 5 p.m. in the cafeteria at the Caribou  High School.
    This Irish Celebration will begin with a sit down dinner, featuring authentic Irish Guinness Beef Stew, baked potatoes, peas and Irish soda bread. Dinner will be topped off with a dessert of ice cream garnished with a shamrock sugar cookie and kelly-green mint sauce. Dinner will be served by members of the Caribou High School National Honor Society.
    The Council of the Arts promises a solitary event with international flair. The music and dance segment of the program will provide authentic Celtic music performed live by a variety of musicians including: The Sheidler Family, Ken Campbell and the Wednesday Evening Fiddlers, the Gallagher Brothers, The Wayover Trio, Bagpipes by Tim Sheidler; and the vocal trio of Erin Buck, Danielle Lane and Kelly Moody. The Maine Dance Academy Celtic Dancers will also be performing on stage during the evening event.
    Tickets for the Irish Dinner are $7 each and must be purchased in advance, assuring everyone gets a full dinner.
    Tickets for the Celtic music program which will begin at 7 p.m. in the CPAC are $5 each.
    Those interested in attending either of these events, or both, should purchase their tickets soon, as seating is limited at both venues.
    Tickets for the Irish Celebration dinner and music program may be purchased at Caribou One Stop, the Caribou Chamber of Commerce and Industry or at the Aroostook Centre Mall in Presque Isle.
    Part of the proceeds have been earmarked for use in Presque Isle, with funds going to help the Sesquicentennial Committee with various planned activities.
    “I’ve been in contact with John Swanberg who is running the Irish (Aroostook Celtic) event. He told me that tickets sold in Presque Isle will have a bearing on proceeds that our Sesquicentennial Committee may get from the event. If both the dinner and concert are sold out, he tells me we could get several hundred dollars,” said Kim Smith, Presque Isle’s Sesquicentennial Committee chairperson.