IrishCentral Catskills Irish Arts Festival - b5cc3275d518416eacb61d676e8d84d1

Craic in upstate New York is about to explode with Catskills Irish Arts Week (IrishCentral)

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 10:30:30 PDT

By: PAUL KEATING

The craic in the Catskills is about to explode up and down Route 145 in East Durham, New York; the heart of the Irish Catskills. It’s time for the 18th Annual Catskills Irish Arts Week hosted by the Michael J. Quill Irish Cultural and Sports Centre taking place July 15 to 21 in the historic hamlet. It is the largest gathering of Irish traditional musicians in North America at the internationally respected summer school known as the “Willie Clancy Summer School of the West” upon which it was modeled. High praise indeed since the WCSS is celebrating 40 years this July also right before the CIAW and quite a few teachers will be at both schools.

Catskills Irish Arts Week in full swing (IrishCentral)

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 04:45:15 PDT

CherishThe moon peeked through the hot and hazy summer’s eve over the mountains and along Route 145 as Monday night’s fun exploded all over East Durham on the official Monday opening of the prestigious Catskills Irish Arts WeekThe moon will be full by the time the annual event crests at week’s end with the close of the annual Andy McGann Traditional Music Festival on Saturday so the craic in the Catskills should be howl Thousands of tunes will have been shared by teachers and students from stages to roadhouses surrounded by the lush green hills that have been attracting the Irish for decades to Greene County about two and half hours from New York City Again there are hundreds who witness the annual summer festival and summer school, many of whom return year after year READ MORE

Rambling Irish men and women - fleadhs, festivals and music (IrishCentral)

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 05:15:20 PDT

Len GrahamIt has always been my impression that the mission of any good summer school program would be to provide as much value and information as a curious student body or audience could soak up beyond the obvious hours of classroom instructions And it is a very valuable outlet and way to show off the credentials of the faculty when they can share their greater insights into our very rich cultural heritageNowhere has that practice been put to greater effect than at the Catskills Irish Arts Week (CIAW, catskillsirishartsweekorg) in East Durham which is commencing its 17th annual program in the mountains next week from July 10-16 READ MORE

Girsa shows they’re growing up (IrishCentral)

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 01:45:16 PDT

Girsa (Photo by Christina DeSalvinoSix years ago in the midst of the frenzied Catskills Irish Arts Week in East Durham at a special afternoon reception on the Quill Festival Grounds, some young students were asked to perform sampling how the CIAW was influencing the generational passage for traditional Irish musicAmong those displaying their talents that day were some very young teenage women who made a deep impression for their vocal and tune-playing skill and poise on stage and behind a microphone Coming from the Pearl River cauldron of music education and promotion, they hit their stride at the upstate summer school as they were exposed to more master teachers who encouraged them along with their parents READ MORE