THE KOROIT IRISH FESTIVAL IS JUST A WEEK AWAY!
by PORT FAIRY & REGION VISITOR INFORMATION CENTRE
The 2019 Koroit Irish Festival will be held on the weekend of April 26-28. The hard-working volunteer committee has been busy laying the foundations for what will be another brilliant festival. In 2018, a record crowd of 4000 people attended the festival and every last one of them had a ball! The best part is, 2019 is going to be even better.
TICKET COLLECTION
For those of you who have purchased tickets online, you will be able to pick them up from Monday to Wednesday at the Koroit Theatre between 10am and 2pm. On Anzac Day you can pick up from 2-4pm and on Friday April 26 you can pick up all day. All you have to do is bring your printed email notification from TryBooking with your ticket code so we can scan and give you your armband.
On the Saturday of the festal, you can exchange your email ticket for an armband at the main gate on the Eastern side of Commercial Road, in front of the Koroit Theatre and Koroit IGA supermarket. There will be a sign on one of the ticket boxes saying pre-purchased tickets pick-up.
For those of you who have yet to get your tickets, you can still book Saturday-Sunday tickets online at www.koroitirishfestival.com.au
AMBASSADORS
We are thrilled to announce the 2019 Koroit Irish Festival Ambassadors are the Gaelic Football girls from Garryowen GAC. These girls not only come down from Melbourne and play great football on the Sunday, they also bring colour and life to the whole festival. Congratulations girls. They will lead the procession on Saturday and play football at Victoria Park on Sunday so get around them.
YEAR OF THE SPUD
The famous, humble Koroit spud will be celebrated like never before with the theme for the 2019 Koroit Irish Festival The Year of the Spud. The spud has been an integral part of Koroit life since the Irish fled the potato famine in their home country in the 1850s and headed to new lands to find new, rich soil. They found just that in Koroit, its volcanic soil making the perfect place to put old skills to work in the new land. Activities to celebrate The Year of the Spud will include our spud picking and peeling competitions on the Village Green and a Koroit spud display in Commercial Road from the Koroit and District Historical Society on Saturday April 27. On Sunday April 28, at the historical society’s headquarters at Victoria Park, at 1pm, we will be holding a Spud Panel, featuring generations of Koroit and district spud growers and pickers, sharing their colourful stories about this most Irish of agricultural endeavours.
EVERYONE JOIN IN
We don’t just want people to come to the Koroit Irish Festival, we want them to be a part of it! On the Friday night, iconic Celtic band The Borderers will be leading an Irish Singalong in the Koroit Theatre. The show will include all the big Irish classics so get in plenty of practice so you can join in the hit the high notes.
On Saturday on the Village Green at 1.30pm the Koroit Pub Singers will make their Koroit Irish Festival debut. This wonderful ensemble will be sing two Irish classic, Dirty Old Town and Zombie. Everyone is welcome to join in and we have even prinited the lyrics here so you don’t miss a beat. This will be one of the moments of the festival so make sure you are a part of it.
ZOMBIEAnother head hangs lowly child is slowly takenAnd the violence caused such silence who are we mistakenBut you see it’s not me it’s not my familyIn your head in your head they are fightingWith their tanks and their bombs and their bombs and their gunsIn your head in your head they are crying In your head, in your head, Zombie, Zombie, Zombie hey heyWhat’s in your head, Zombie Zombie ZombieHey hey hey oh dou dou dou dou dou dou dou doudou dou dou dou dou dou dou dou Another mother’s breaking heart is taking overWhen the violence causes silence we must be mistakent's the same old theme since nineteen-sixteenIn your head, in your head, they're still fightingWith their tanks, and their bombs and their bombs, and their gunsIn your head, in your head, they are dying In your head, in your headZombie, zombie, zombie-ie-ieWhat's in your head, in your headZombie, zombie, zombie-ie-ie, oh oh oh oh oh oh oh ie-ie oh DIRTY OLD TOWN I met my love by the gas works wallDreamed a dream by the old canal, I kissed my girl by the factory wallDirty old town, Dirty old townClouds are drifting across the moon, cats are prowling on their beatSpring's a girl from the streets at nightDirty old town, Dirty old townI heard a siren from the docks, saw a train set the night on fireI smelled the spring on the smoky windDirty old town, Dirty old townI'm going to make me a good sharp axe,shining steel tempered in the fireI'll chop you down like an old dead treeDirty old town, Dirty old town
IRISH STEW
Don't forget to go to our website and order your Irish Stew for tea on Saturday night at the Koroit Theatre. Serves are limited so get in and book now so you don't miss out. The Borderers will be playing straight after tea and a bar will be operating. A serve of Irish Stew is just $8.
TIMETABLE
Click here for your festival timetable, a great chance to plan your weekend and share with your friends. Thanks for your ongoing support of our wonderful festival.
