Irish Hearts Will be Happy at Ivy Manor This Weekend
Top o' the Weekend To You!
BAR HARBOR—Did you know that St. Patrick was born in Britain? Or that there weren’t any snakes in Ireland, allegedly, for him to cast off its shore? Or that leprechaun comes from the word lobaircin, which means “small-bodied fellow?”
No worries.
In Bar Harbor, you don’t even have to be of Irish descent to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. This weekend the Ivy Manor Inn hosts three-days of events celebrating the holiday, but it’s also a celebration of community and spring, of getting together with musicians and story and maybe a pint or two.
While the holiday that celebrates Ireland, being of Irish descent, and the patron saint often involves libation in the United States, since the first parade on March 17, 1601, in what is currently St. Augustine, Florida. In Ireland, it was a bit different.
According to History.com, ”In America, St. Patrick’s Day, on March 17, has long been commemorated with rollicking festivities, but until recent decades, the holiday, which honors Ireland’s patron saint, was traditionally a more solemn occasion on the Emerald Isle.”
Bangor used to celebrate St. Patrick’s in a big way. With a 1900 edition of the Bangor Daily News lamenting the last parade in 1876. The first parade was in 1849 thanks to the Bangor Catholic Temperance Society. There was a banquet and procession with “each man wearing a temperance medal and a silk banner was carried.” The governor would occasional speak.
In the 1900s Bangor, the observance, the paper says, “is of a literary or musical character.”
The Ivy Manor takes up that tradition focusing on music, dance, and poetry, with some libations and a scavenger hunt thrown in.
“We've noticed activity has picked up on weekends here in Bar Harbor as of late,” said Bar Manager Brian Goff. “More rooms are being sold in the hotels, and more restaurants and shops are beginning to open up. Saint Patick's Day is a fun holiday to celebrate. With it falling on a Sunday this year, we thought why not make this into an entire weekend celebration with different events. I presented some ideas to Elizabeth Bunker (director of operations) and Peter Hastings (owner of Henry Hotels) and they said yes!”
Hastings once owned Leary's Irish Pub and Goff’s first management job was at Joshua Tree, a popular Irish Pub in Somerville, Massachusetts.
“The general feeling once we got talking was we can have a lot of fun with this. The Ivy Manor seems like a great location to host these events,” Goff said.
Will there be garlands declaring “Kiss Me I’m Irish?” or glittery, giant shamrocks plastered on walls? It remains to be seen, but the crew at the Ivy Manor Inn have created three days of experiences starting on March 15 and running through March 17 that are all focused on celebrating the event. While vastly expanded, it builds on many Bar Harbor events of the past.
Back in 1958, Bar Harbor’s big St. Patrick’s Day news was an annual card party held by the YWCA teens. The Bangor Daily News listed all the clean-up committee members, seventh, eighth graders, and moms involved.
The Ivy Manor events, coming after a night of stand-up comedy, and coupled with events at Reel Pizza and free music and improvisation classes at the Criterion have added a late winter plethora of new events to the school system’s and Jesup Memorial Library’s.
These events came together quickly, Goff said. “Yes it did take a lot of leg work and we are still finalizing preparations as we speak. Putting together the music line-up was the easiest part. All the performers were excited to be called and take part in this unique three-day Saint Patrick's Day celebration.”
The Irish Whiskey and Beer Tasting
The Irish whiskey and beer tasting will have special musical guest Gus La Casse performing classic Irish tunes and some of his favorite pieces on the violin while the tasting is going on. “Gus will add some nice ambience to the room and is a great violin player,” Goff said.
Poetry!
The poetry reading can be Irish themed or not, Goff said.
“Adding an Irish word of two to your reading or even reading your poetry with an Irish accent will score you additional points,” he said.
A special prize will be given to one lucky winner.
“Poetry readings can be exciting, thought provoking, romantic, and fun. The main room at the Ivy Manor will be perfect for this event,” he said.
The Scavenger Hunt
The scavenger hunt will start at 10:00 a.m. on Saint Patrick's Day itself, Sunday, March 17. Teams with a max of four to six players will be given a list of clues to find and take photos within the town limits of Bar Harbor. The team with the most clues solved and correct photos taken will return no later than noon time at the Ivy Manor Inn. The winning team will win a special prize. Kids are welcome to participate with adult supervision.
Irish Dance Competition
“The Irish dance competition just sounds fun,” Goff said. “YouTube is a great place to see how traditional Irish dancing is performed.”
Each contestant will be given a couple of minutes to show the judges what they've got.
“We will provide the Irish music and a special prize to the winning dancer,” he said of the event which begins at noon on St. Patrick’s Day.
Happy Hour St. Patrick’s
“The bar will open at 7:00 a.m. and will have a really good 'Happy Hour' to enjoy until noon time on Sunday,” Goff said. “After the scavenger hunt and Irish dance competition concludes, Nathan Grant will perform live music. Grant is an incredible local singer, songwriter, and guitarist.”
The Musicians!
Quiet for Sue will be the St. Patrick's Day kick-off party starting at 8 p.m. Friday night.
“Travis Paterson and Molly Moon are an awesome local duo, Travis plays guitar and Molly handles most of the singing. These two are a lot of fun!” Goff said.
Griffin Graves will perform at 2:00 pm on Sat, followed by father and daughter duet, Kip and Emily Young at 5:00 p.m. Griffin Graves plays guitar, piano, and both his own songs and covers. He’s a podcaster as well as a folk musician. The Youngs are a fresh, contemporary, acoustic act.
“He’s a super talented kid,” Goff said. “Kip and Emily Young are just great. Dad plays guitar while daughter handles most of the vocals. They play everything.”
DJ Tashtego (Michael Benz) will perform a live set starting at 8:00 p.m. Saturday night, playing a wide variety of tunes from different genres and styles of music, with lots of oldies but goodies mixed in as well, Goff said.
OTHER HAPPENINGS
Leary’s Landing will be open for St. Patrick’s Day.
Side Street will be open as well and there will be cucumber lime margaritas. They’re green!
WindowPanes is having its annual “Lucky Coin Sale.” Customers select a coin and receive 15-25% off their purchase.
As we learn of more things, we’ll update this story.