by Stephen Dafoe
Just over a month after packing Smith Plaza for Dinner Time in the Maritimes, an evening of East Coast food and music, the Champion Regional Series is laying down their next event – Eat, Drink and Be Irish, an evening of Irish food, beer, and food.
The event takes place at Smith Music Plaza Mar. 18 as a St. Patrick’s Day celebration. The event is catered by the Green Bean with cocktails at 6 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. and the live show starting at 8 p.m.
“With this great group of musicians who can play Irish music and Celtic music, this was a no-brainer for St. Paddy’s Day,” said organizer Paul Smith. “We’re bringing in a harp player to play Irish music over dinner on the harp. Irish music is another cool form of music that we can bring to the town that’s not standard fare.”
Champion Petfoods is the sponsor of the event, having invested $10,000 in 2015 to put on a series of entertainment and cultural events that focus on fresh regional food ingredients, and local, and regional musical talent. The local company just invested another $2,000 for 2017 to keep the regional food and entertainment ball rolling.
Show promoter Paul Smith said the evening would feature the talent of Canadian fiddler Byron Myhre, Ed Bulger, and himself. The trio will pull out traditional Irish instruments, including fiddles, flutes, and mandolins.
The menu for the evening will include Irish fare, including Irish stew and other items from the Emerald Isle.
The event is limited to 80 tickets and showgoers need to be members of Musicians for Morinville, a club with no cost. Membership will give participants first call and first crack at future events.
“This is about getting jobs to local musicians and supporting local music,” Smith said of the free membership. “You pay for performances you want to see.”
Smith is hoping people will come out and enjoy the kind of evening the sold out Dinner Time in the Maritimes attendees enjoyed.
Tickets are available at Smith Music and on Eventbrite at the cost of $40 per person.
