Thousands of people are flooding the Mercer County Park Festival Grounds in West Windsor this weekend to enjoy the fifth annual Mercer Irish Fest, presented by the Trenton Irish Heritage Association.
Thousands of people attended the fifth annual Mercer Irish at Fest Mercer County Park Festival Grounds in West Windsor over the weekend.
Ppresented by the Trenton Irish Heritage Association, the three-day festival, which featured Irish music, dancing, food, vendors, carnival rides, and much more, kicked off Friday with performances by Black Brant and The River Drivers. The fun continued Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. with performances by Poor Man's Gambit, The Fair Trade, Galway Guild, Birmingham Six and The Shanty's. The festival wrapped up Sunday with performances by The Celtic Martins, The Bantry Boys, The Broken Shillelaghs and Ballycastle.
"The Trenton Irish Heritage Association does a great job of putting on the Mercer Irish Fest, which has become a much-anticipated family event each September," Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes said of the association, which also puts together the annual Trenton St. Patrick's Day Parade and many other local events.
"The Irish Fest is one of several terrific heritage festivals that help us celebrate the diversity of cultures here in Mercer County, and I invite everyone to come out and enjoy Irish dance and music at the Mercer County Park Festival Grounds."
The price of admission is a $5 donation to the association, which has been holding the festival at Mercer County Park since 2011, back when it was only a one-day event. Since then, the festival has grown into a three-day spectacle with a wide variety of Irish-related things to see and do.
"There's a little bit of everything (at the festival)," said association member Shannon Keenan. "People just come to hang out, camp out, (and have a good time)."
Hughes recently explained why large-scale events at Mercer County Park like the Mercer Irish Fest are good for the community.
"It's a great opportunity to come out and meet your neighbor," said Hughes. "With the community in Mercer continuing to grow, events like this are important."
Rich Cuccagna may be reached at rcuccagna@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RichCuccagna. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.