Old Town Irish Party Cancelled Amid Public Health Safety Concerns

This post was updated at 7:44 pm on March 12, 2020 with new information. The original post is below it.

FROM DOWNTOWN BUSINESS ASSOCIATION:

The Old Town Irish Party scheduled for Saturday, March 14th in Old Town Square has been canceled. The decision was made out of an abundance of caution per the rapidly evolving scenarios related to COVID-19.

Public health experts agree that one of the most effective ways to contain the spread of the virus is to limit large gatherings that result in close contact with others.

Old Town Irish Party event organizers were planning on hosting thousands of event attendees.

While very disappointing, this decision has been made in the best interest of public health and is based on the understanding of how COVID-19 is currently progressing throughout Colorado and the United States.

For more information related to COVID-19, please visit: Larimer.org/coronavirus

(original article published)

It’s time to get your green on in Downtown Fort Collins! On Saturday, March 14th, Northern Colorado’s largest St. Patrick’s Day celebration returns to Old Town Square with the free and family-friendly Old Town Irish Party. 

Bring the family and plan to spend the day Downtown as the entirety of the Old Town Square plaza transforms into a Fort Collins-style St. Patrick’s Day bash, featuring programming for all ages. 

From 11:00 am – 4:00 pm, the north side of Old Town Square will showcase four-plus hours of live music on the Organic Alternatives Stage, as well as an open-air beer garden featuring green beer from High Country Beverage and premium craft beer offerings from Odell Brewing. 

Simultaneously, the south side of Old Town Square will feature a kid-centric “Shamrock Festival” with circus stunt performers, face painters, interactive exhibitors, and St. Patrick’s Day-themed art projects. 

After the festivities, stay downtown for dinner and celebrate the last day of the annual Great Plates of Downtown promotion at your choice of 43 participating Old Town eateries! 

When: March 14th, 2020 Where: Live Music and Green Beer Garden at the north end of Old Town Square. 

Family-friendly Shamrock Festival area located on the south end of Old Town Square. Price: Free! Hours: 11:00 am – 4:00 pm 

Programming for the Kids 

From 11:00 am – 4:00 pm, the south end of Old Town Square will transform into a free and family-friendly Shamrock Festival area with interactive programming for all ages! Let the kids run loose as you soak up the sounds, the sun, and the festive atmosphere of historic Old Town Square. 

Spectra Circus Entertainment will be taking over the south side of Old Town Square with extraordinary performers and free circus entertainment including stilt walkers, professional hula hoopers, balloon twisters and more! Get your hands dirty with Irish- themed arts & crafts, a bubble station, temporary face tattoos, professional face painters, and a green hair coloring station! And make sure your cell phone is fully charged for selfie opportunities, as you may encounter a wandering leprechaun while you’re out! 

Plus, join Downtown Fort Collins and The Exchange’s newest addition, Board & Brush Creative Studio, for a St. Patrick’s Day Make & Take Workshop! Board & Brush’s helpful team will instruct kids and families step-by-step to create a beautiful wooden piece for your home or for a gift. Each project is stencil-based and fun for all ages. Each Irish- themed project is $15 and includes all tools and materials, a $15 bounceback coupon for Board & Brush’s new location at The Exchange, plus your completed project to take home! 

The Shamrock Festival will take place simultaneously during the Old Town Irish Party, so kids and families can rock out to their favorite bands while they play (and parents can enjoy a green beer, too!) 

Programming for the Grown-Ups 

Music fans will want to stay close to the Organic Alternatives Stage for nearly 4 hours of free, live music! Featured performances include The High Road Home (Progressive Bluegrass), Kerry Pastine & The Crime Scene (Rockabilly & Blues) and Guerrilla Fanfare (New Orleans-style Brass Band). Read more about this year’s music lineup below. 

The High Road Home – 11:00 am – 12:15 pm 2019 UllrGrass band competition winners, The High Road Home, bring you an original sound that doesn’t fit squarely into any one category. Their songwriting leans on such influences as Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson, yet they reside closer to progressive bluegrass, offering a fresh take on tradition while continually pushing towards the future of the genre. 

Kerry Pastine & The Crime Scene – 12:45 pm – 2:00 pm Kerry Pastine has spent her life bringing her own brand of classic sounds, styles, and fashion to her songwriting and live performances. From the big band jump blues of The Informants to the edgy rockabilly blues of the first two Crime Scene records, Let’s Do This Thing and Bad Magic Baby, Kerry has redefined what vintage music means in the new millennium. Through years of experience, Kerry found a unique voice and with that evolution, she challenged herself to write and record an album that captures the essence of evolution, change and growth, from both within and without. 

Guerrilla Fanfare – 2:30 pm – 3:45 pm The Guerrilla Fanfare Brass Band (or simply Guerrilla Fanfare or GuFa) brings raw, rowdy, unadulterated, booty-shakin’ New Orleans style funk to the Northern Colorado area. Our mission is always to get everyone up and grooving to our relentlessly fiery and funky sound. GuFa is composed of some of the finest and rowdiest horn players and percussionists in Northern Colorado, and performs hard-hitting funk, New Orleans Second Line style, fiery originals, and raucous arrangements of modern pop hits. 

Old Town Irish Party Beverage Offerings 

Green Coors Light – High Country Beverage Guinness Draught – High Country Beverage Mango White Claw Hard Seltzer 90 Shilling – Odell Brewing Co 

Mountain Standard IPA – Odell Brewing Sippin’ Pretty Fruited Sour – Odell Brewing Bottled Water 

The Old Town Irish Party is produced by the Downtown Fort Collins Business Association (DBA), a 501c6 non-profit organization that works to advance the vibrancy, vitality, and prosperity of the downtown district. The DBA serves a membership base of over 225 active businesses, including retailers, restaurants, non-profit and arts organizations, entertainment venues, and healthcare and professional service providers. With a 35+ year track record as a successful, self-funded non-profit organization, the DBA annually produces over 75 days of free family-friendly programming, signature events, community celebrations and business promotions that attract over 200,000 people to historic Old Town Fort Collins each year. 

The DBA would also like to thank its annual sponsors, as their support enables the organization to bring these free and family-friendly events to the community: The Eye Center of Northern Colorado; Comcast Xfinity; Odell Brewing Co.; Cosner Financial Group; High Country Beverage & Coors Light; First National Bank; and Dellenbach Motors. The DBA would also like to thank Organic Alternatives for its support of the live music stage and Fort Collins Nursery for the landscaping display.