The months of hard work and planning have finally paid off as Tyrone’s Irish Heritage Celebration Week is set to begin.
The kick-off event will be the “Luck of the Irish” Parade scheduled for Tuesday, March 11 beginning at 6 p.m., organized by the Rotary Club of Tyrone. Everyone in town is encouraged to come out and enjoy the parade!
Before the parade begins, the crowning of the First Annual Little King, Cortlynd Daniel Rhoades, and Little Queen, Kelsey Rae Johnson will be held at approximately 5 p.m. at City Hotel Park. Mayor Jim Kilmartin will crown Tyrone’s “Little King and Queen”, and they will be escorted in the parade by Larrie Derman. This event is being sponsored by the Tyrone Merchants Association.
There are several other pre-parade activities in the works. WTRN is planning to be at City Hotel Park at 5 p.m., with the live broadcasting of the crowning of the Little King and Queen. Also, bagpipes will be played by Keith Beisel, and other entertainment will be provided by the Bud and Revel Show and the Michael O’Brian Band. New this year, a balloon release is scheduled for approximately 6:15 p.m., sponsored by M&T Bank. Also, there will be character cutouts at City Hotel Park for picture taking.
There are several other activities planned throughout the week for the Irish Heritage Celebration.
An Irish stew dinner is scheduled for Thursday, March 13 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at Wesley United Methodist Church in Tyrone. Wesley is partnering with the Tyrone Community Partnership for this event. Adult tickets are $8 in advance and $9 at the door. Children tickets are $4 in advance and $5 at the door. Music will be provided by the Michael O’Brian Band, performing authentic Irish songs. Tickets for this dinner are available at the Tyrone Area Chamber of Commerce office, G&P Dollar Stretcher, Alice’s Garden and Wesley United Methodist Church.
The Joshua House has scheduled a St. Patrick’s Kids Dance for Friday, March 14 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. for kids K-5. The kids are encouraged to wear green, while the music, games, face painting and Irish songs will be provided. Tickets are $2 per child. Also, Joshua House will be hosting an open house fundraiser for the Tyrone skate/bike park on March 15 from 2 to 4 p.m., with vendors including Tastefully Simple, Pampered Chef, Lia Sophia Jewelry, Towne Craft and Gold Canyon Candles. Stop by to find out more about the project. For more information, call Steven Small at 684-6083.
The Bull Pen Restaurant has scheduled Flight 19 for Friday, March 14.
The “Bud and Revel Show” is scheduled for Friday, March 14 at the Tyrone Elks Club.
The TAHS music department has scheduled a book sale at Barnes & Noble from March 14 – 17 to help support the Spring Production Musical, “West Side Story”.
The Tyrone-Snyder Public Library and the Tyrone Community Players will be performing a play “The Perfect Nest” at 10:30 a.m. Refreshments will be provided. The library is also planning to have a “Trash to Treasures” yard sale on March 15 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the community room. Also, there will be children’s entertainment and refreshments at 10:30 a.m. in the children’s area plus displays of books on Ireland and Irish items throughout the library.
At Tyrone Rail Park, there will be displays, along with the Blair County Genealogical Society will be available to run the history of your family name on both Saturday and Sunday, March 15 and 16. On Sunday, March 16 only, Jeff Adams will be doing a book signing of his new book Images of America, Tyrone.
Finally, an Irish Spiritual Heritage Service is scheduled for Sunday, March 16 at 7 p.m. at the Tyrone Area High School Auditorium with live broadcasting by WTRN, bagpipes by Keith Beisel, Rachel Eardley performing on the harp, and Allegheny Chorale performing some choral selections. The speaker is scheduled to be Rev. Peggy Bonsell, and the host will be Rev. Norman Huff. This event is sponsored by the Tyrone Community Players.
There are also ongoing events for the Irish Heritage Celebration.
At Patrice’s Boutique, “Save Green” with 15 percent off new and spring merchandise and 25 to 75 percent off fall and winter merchandise in the store.
Tickets are currently available for purchase for a raffle basket that is on display at Gardners Candies through March 30, with the drawing being held that day. The winner will be announced in a future edition of The Daily Herald.
Those interested in participating in the flag display can still do so. The committee is looking for any business, organization or individual to purchase a flag for $20 to display through town. Individual purchase of flags is also being offered this year at a cost of $20.
Those interested can also purchase Irish Heritage T-shirts at Cowfer’s Custom Design for $10 each.
Check out the billboard that is currently being displayed on I-99 to help promote the Heritage Celebration.
The Irish Heritage Committee is always looking for organizations, businesses and/or individuals that would like to take on a project for the celebration for next year, either an original idea, or the committee has a list of ideas that need manpower to implement. If anyone would like to volunteer to help, contact Laurie Cowfer at 684-6025 or the Tyrone Area Chamber of Commerce at 684-0736.
