I’m sitting here trying to type this column the day after the Irish American Heritage Center Festival and I’m still in shock, not to mention completely bushed. What a great weekend! I honestly think that this was the best festival they’ve ever had there. The weather was far better that predicted, the crowds came out and the bands, for the most part, were in tune. There was such great music this year. I didn’t get to see the performances inside the building because I was busy in our booth but I did make a point of watching “Dyed in the Wool.” They are one of my favorite local bands and our good friend Kim Bigler sat in with them on bodhran this year and also danced to one piece of music. She’s a very talented ballet dancer and certainly showed off her talent this weekend. It was great to see and hear and I hope the band keeps her in the lineup.

A couple other bands definitely deserve mention. The Makem and Spain Brothers never fail to deliver with great songs sung in perfect harmony and their performance this year was no exception. The Dooley Brothers performed a couple of great sets of old favorites and many off their new CD Black Sunshine, a definite must have. I missed seeing and hearing Gavin Coyle perform but I knew when he was finished because people streamed out to the booth and bought every CD of his that we had in stock.

The real heroes of the festival were all the volunteers who worked like beavers getting everything ready, manning the gates, selling the tickets, working the bars and cleaning up the mess afterward. My hat’s off to you all. Without the army of workers the festival wouldn’t exist.

Soap Box Time

Enough about festivals and fun, it’s time for me to drag out the old soap box, mount up and proceed to preach. One problem we get at festivals is folks having way more to drink than is prudent and then trying to drive home. It’s never good and always dangerous. Some festivals have instituted designated driver programs with buttons identifying the designated driver which entitle that person to free soda and water. A nice idea. Saturday night I nearly got clipped by a big swerving SUV that ran a red light. Thank God for good brakes. I could carry on like this but a dear friend went thru the experience of being hit by a drunk driver, wrote an essay on her experience and gave me permission to use it.

Due to space constraints, her essay is posted on the IAN website, (www.iannews.com) and I encourage you to read it for the profound impact it will make on your view of drinking and driving.

I hope you can all make it to the festivals this summer, have wonderful times and get home happy and healthy. Slainte!

Finding me is never difficult. Weekdays I’m usually in my store gazing at my new ceiling, (another story, another time) so stop by and say Hi at 47 S. Villa Avenue in Villa Park or call at 630-834-8108 – weekends I’ll be under tent behind a pile of CDs.