Manhattan Irish Fest 2018: What To Know If You Go

MANHATTAN, IL - Irish season gets underway as soon as March starts, with the village of Manhattan holding their annual Manhattan Irish Fest on the first weekend of the month. Occurring on March 2 and 3 this year, the festival is organized by the village and the Irish American Society of County Will. Here's everything you need to know if you are planning to head to the far, far south suburbs to take part in the popular event this year.

PARADE

The parade will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 3. It will start on North Street, then proceed to State Street.

GRAND MARSHAL

Joseph “Joe” Curran, a lifelong Manhattan resident and United States Army veteran, will be the Grand Marshal. Curran served in both Afghanistan and Iraq in the early 2000s. He's currently an Irrigation Specialist at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

A UNIQUE 5K

The parade starts with a 5K race that follows the route of the parade. That's not the only thing that makes this event unusual. It's a point-to-point race, much like the Boston Marathon. Register here.

RUGBY

Rugby matches will be played at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday at Manhattan Central Park.

CRAFT FAIR

A Craft Fair will take place on the second day of the festival at St. Joseph School.

NEW NAME FOR SCHOLARSHIP

This year, there's a new name for the King & Queen Scholarship. According to a news release, the scholarship will now forever be known as the "Michael J. McHugh Memorial King & Queen Scholarship" in memory of one of the founding organizers of the fest. This year's festival preview states that "Mike gave back to his community in many ways and loved to talk about his Irish Heritage." READ MORE: Mike McHugh, Founder Of Manhattan Irish Fest, Dies

SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

The King award goes to Ryan Gentile and the Queen award goes to Sara Swanberg, both of Lincoln-Way West High School. Both students will receive a $1,000 scholarship toward the school of their choice. With this award, the festival has awarded $27,000 in scholarships since 2004.

Gentile is the son of James and Karen Gentile of Manhattan. He hopes to become an optometrist after majoring in biology at either The University of Illinois or Lewis University.

“A significant inspiration for becoming an optometrist is my local eye doctor, Dr. Jeff Pietrzyk,” he said.

Swanberg is the daughter of Dale and Tracy Swanberg of Manhattan. Sara will study engineering in college and wants to use her degree to give back to the world. She is a member of the basketball and badminton teams at Lincoln-Way West and is involved with programs such as Principal’s Cabinet, Future Business Leaders of America and the Athletic Outreach.

SPONSORS

Berkot's Super Foods, Lakeshore Beverage, Gallagher's Pub, AmeriGas, Patten CAT, Waste Management, Hawk Joliet, Integrity Fire Equipment, Inc., D'Arcy Buick GMC, Fritz's Saloon, NextGen Construction, Inc.

Photos via Manhattan Irish Fest: Grand Marshal Joe Curran, King Ryan Gentile, Queen Sara Swanberg

Main photo via Errek Photography