A dispatch from the Weston Irish Fest
By OWEN MORRIS
I attended the Weston Irish Fest on Saturday and apart from leaving my camera at home (hence, this post's generic picture) had a pleasant time. The city of Weston is basically a college town without a college. Lots of nice old buildings and independent shops, but without that antiques "hands-off!" feel of other nice old towns. Like a favorite flannel shirt, Weston is aged yet comfortable at the same time.
And the weather couldn't have been nicer (unlike a couple of recent years, when the event was a mudfest). Walking down Weston's main street in perfect weather with hundreds of other smiling, friendly people, it almost seemed like a movie set -- later in the night, when one of the event organizers announced actress Elizabeth Shue was in the audience, it all just seemed to fit.
The weather helped attendance, and by 8 p.m. there were no lawn chairs left to sit in. It was nice to see such a raucous, lively and really Irish crowd. (A sign you're at a good festival: more kilts than baby-strollers.) Unfortunately the crowd became slightly bigger than the festival planners had anticipated and the food and beverage tents started to run out of items well before the night was over. Even O'Malley's Pub was out of fish and chips.
I was similarly disappointed later when I wanted a Smithwick's beer only to learn that yes, the organizers had run out of Smithwicks. Harp's made a great second choice. I also tasted the lot of Weston-brewed beers and was under-impressed with the flagship Weston Irish-Creme Ale, which tastes like milk mixed with a real stout. But I really enjoyed the under-hyped Festival Ale, which had more bite and hops than other brown ales like Newcastle.
Weston's Irish Fest doesn't change much from year to year (if it ain't broke...) but the great weather and the crowd took this year's event to a different level. Near the end of the night in one cellar, the band finished up its set with several Irish classics. I zoned out and for a split-second I couldn't remember where I was. It didn't look like Kansas City but it didn't look exactly like Ireland either. That was Weston -- a little bit of both.
Post a Comment
