Community Corner
Irish Heritage Park Family Social Fundraiser- Sunday April 13th
A family afternoon social is on tap Sunday, April 13 at Emmett’s Castle to raise money for the
new Irish cultural and heritage section of the Memorial Day Irish Festival May 24-25 in East
Durham, NY. The Heritage Park brings more family oriented cultural events to the Festival, now
in its 37th year.
There will be live Irish music and poetry reading. Everyone is invited to bring their singing
voices and instruments to join in.
The fundraiser starts at 2 p.m. at Emmett’s Castle, 285 Blue Hill Road, Pearl River. Donations
at the door all go to the Family Park. Food and drink will be available for sale. There will be a
variety of raffles including one in which the first prize is 2 nights at Gavin’s Irish Resort, 4 tickets
to the Zoom Flue Water Park, 4 tickets to Bailiwick Ranch and Discovery Zoo, and 2 tickets for
golf at Blackhead Mountain Country Club. All these resorts are close to East Durham in upstate
New York. Second prize is an engraved brick placed in the largest map of Ireland in the World at
the Heritage Park; third prize two pieces of Galway Crystal.
There will also be a sneak preview of the “Dreams of Fionn McCool”, written and directed
by Donal Lehane and performed by families in the Nanuet/Pearl River area. Donal calls this
neighborhood Theater. It is an opportunity to teach children Irish songs and legends and to
have fun. Their play was a big hit at the Festival last year and promises to be even more fun this
year.