The Burlington Irish Heritage Festival celebrates and raises awareness of Irish and Irish-American culture in Burlington, Vermont and the surrounding region, with a special focus on the calendar period around St. Patrick’s Day. The BIHF works with local musicians, dancers, writers, historians, artists, and co-sponsors to create a core set of events during the week closest to St. Patrick’s Day.

Schedule of Events:

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm: Introduction to the Irish Language with Chris Branagan

Chris is a Vermonter with a lifelong interest in the Irish language. He has tailored an informational session for people who have had little or no previous contact with Irish (also known as Gaelic) and are interested in learning more about it. Topics will include:

History and current status of the language
Guidelines for pronunciation
Basic sentence structure
Useful phrases, proverbs, etc.
Dialects of Irish
Description of available courses for adult learners

4:00 pm - 6:00 pm: Session on Main – Album launch concert

Warm up for St. Patrick’s Day with a lively concert by Session on Main, a nationally-known and loosely-organized group of Irish musicians who have hosted a renowned session in the Montpelier area for years.

They will be launching their album,  “The Wild Geese: Irish Traditional Music from Montpelier, Vermont”, now available on Bandcamp.