Merchants Ready Street for Irish Festival

NORTH WILDWOOD — Before the sun rose and with a blanket of fog covering the site, city workers, volunteers and vendors were readying Olde New Jersey Avenue for one of the largest Irish festivals in the country on Fri., Sept. 24.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians James J. Reilly Division’s 19th Annual Irish Fall Festival actually began the day before with a golf tournament at Avalon Country Club during the day and live boxing between the Harrowgate Boxing Club of Philadelphia and the Holy Family Boxing Club of Belfast, Ireland.
But in the early morning hours Friday North Wildwood Public Works employees cleaned the streets of the city’s entertainment strip between Spuce and 1st avenues as well as the surrounding area in which over 100,000 of Irish revelers are expected to visit in the next couple days.
At about 7:45 a.m., when the streets were clean enough to eat from, scores of vendors began setting up their wares they hoped to sell over the weekend. They had unpacked their vans and staged their crates, tables and tents on the sidewalks awaiting the go-ahead from the city workers.
One such merchant was Peter Townsend, who traveled here all the way from Crown Point, Indiana. According to Google Maps, the 850-mile trip takes between 13 and 14 hours. Townsend has been to the North Wildwood festival for the past three years.
Why make the trek?
“This is one of the two best Irish festivals of the year,” Townsend told the Herald with the requisite Irish brogue. He noted that he and his family work 28 such festivals a year mostly in the Midwest. The other “best” festival is also this weekend and also on the East Coast. It’s called the Celtic Classic Highland Games and Festival in Bethlehem, Pa.
“My wife Jennifer and her mother are working that festival,” said Townsend, who was setting up his stands with his assistant Vinnie Olivares. The Townsends specialize in handcrafted Irish gifts and keepsakes including matted and framed child names, family last names and coats of arms heraldry.
Townsend said he and his wife have a friendly competition to see which festival does better for the family business. He said he thought his wife might have won in 2009 because of the rainy Sunday last year in North Wildwood.
“I think I’ll get her this year,” Townsend said. The weather forecast for the weekend is for sun and clouds with temperatures in the 80s — perfect festival weather.
In addition to merchants, Irish Festival weekend will be filled with food and beer vendors, a parade, pipe and drum bands, and other live entertainment in area clubs as well as the festival tent.