Kansas City Irish Fest celebrates Celtic pride in Kansas City by bringing the soul of Ireland to the heart of America. The festival is dedicated to promoting the culture, music, character and history of Ireland and of the Irish people who call Kansas City home. Voted by visitors as the "Best Ethnic Festival" in Kansas City in 2011, 2010 and 2009, and the "Best Festival" in Kansas City in 2008 & 2007, Irish Fest features a giant children's area and a world-class line-up of dancers, artisans, story tellers and more than three dozen musicians and entertainers on seven stages.
Located in the heart of Kansas City at Crown Center Square, Kansas City Irish Fest hosted more than 97,000 people in 2011.
The festival's 2012 line-up includes the Elders, Gaelic Storm, Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Scythian, McPeake, Pogey, Goitse, Young Dubliners, Eddie Delahunt & Friends, Sprag Session, Millish, the O'Riada-McCarty-Manning Academy of Irish Dance, the Driscoll School of Irish Dance and many more. Comedy Stage still to be announced.
The festival was born from the merger of two successful smaller Kansas City neighborhood events, the Brookside and Westport Irish fests. KCIF is almost 100 percent volunteer staffed, and uses the help of nearly 1,500 volunteers annually. 2012 marked Kansas City Irish Fest's tenth year.
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