The West of England Irish CultureFest to arrive in Bristol this March

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, the West of England Irish CultureFest is set to paint the city green with support from Bristol City Centre BID. 

W.E. Irish are inviting Bristol’s Irish community and beyond to join the St Patrick’s Day celebrations, with a calendar full of 35 events taking place between Friday 10 - Sunday 19 March. To close out this extensive programme of Irish cultural activities and events, the W.E. Irish CultureFest will parade through the streets of Bristol on St Patrick’s Day, culminating in an indoor and outdoor party to mark the occasion.

Meeting at Trinity Centre at 11:30am on Sunday 19 March, the parade will commence from 12:30pm, and make its way towards the city centre. The festivities will include a full day of music and dancing - featuring floats, dance performances, bands, street performers and more - continuing into the evening with a party shindig in and around St Nick’s Market that will have visitors exclaiming “slainte!”

Image: The Irish CultureFest 

From 2 - 8pm at St Nicks, expect fiddles and folk to keep crowds entertained, with Irish jigs and river dancing encouraged. With 12 acts performing at 2pm in St Nick's Market glass arcade, there will also be a heated and seated ticketed event later in the day, with live bands, dancers, musicians and more in Revolution Bar, with tickets available here: https://weirish.org.uk/festival/. 

Ahead of the parade, a fringe festival of over 35 events will take place throughout the month - featuring a Ceilidh Dance night with the Perfect Cure Band at Bristol Folk House, dance classes, a Craic House comedy night at Bristol Folk House and plenty more in celebration of the Irish community. 

Image: The Irish CultureFest 

On Saturday 11 March, guests can join Pubs and Potatoes, Giants and Geniuses - a story walk through Bristol led by short story author, Clare Reddaway. Kicking off at 11am, the experience will explore Irish life in Bristol. Through sharing snippets of history and slices of fiction, Clare’s stories are inspired by the streets and buildings at the heart of Bristol, bringing to life the people who once lived there. 

Paul Kelly, Chairperson of W.E. Irish, said: “We are looking forward to bringing everyone, Irish or not, together for a big celebration and appreciation of what Irish people, past and present, have contributed to the West of England. Beyond the stereotypes, we’re extremely proud of our Irish heritage, culture and tradition and can’t wait to showcase the diversity in the city and to share learnings from the stories of Irish families in Bristol.” 

With events and updates regularly added, keep up to date and register for the St Patrick’s Day post-parade parties at St Nicks and Revolution Bar on the website. 

Vicky Lee, Head of Bristol City Centre BID, said: “It’s really great to be able to work in conjunction with the team at W.E. Irish to deliver such a jam-packed series of activities and events in celebration of the Irish community throughout the city. Not only does W.E. Irish CultureFest enhance Bristol’s already extensive and diverse events calendar, as well as providing community activities for all to get involved in, it also helps to support local businesses by driving footfall to those both taking part and nearby. We hope to see residents and visitors there to paint the town green together this March.”