Ready to think Irish on St. Patrick’s Day?

What do you do on St. Patrick’s Day? Wear something green? Drink something green? It seems that St. Patrick’s Day is not one of the biggest days of celebration around this neck of the woods; however, it is a very important day for some.

In case you are not aware of who St. Patrick actually was, here’s a very brief history lesson for you.  St. Patrick lived from AD 385-461 and is considered the foremost patron saint of Ireland.  He is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, marks the death of this patron saint.  We are rather fortunate that this year, March 17 falls on a Saturday, giving us all the opportunity to adequately celebrate this holiday.

Celtic and Irish music is beloved by many and something everyone should experience.  In 2005, Celtic Woman took the world by storm.  It became a huge hit with the exposure from their PBS special which led to world tours and multi-platinum selling recordings and DVD’s.  One of the original angelic voices of Celtic Woman was a beautiful blonde Irish lady named Chloe Agnew. She was the youngest of the Celtic Woman cast.  After nearly 10 years of fame with Celtic Woman, singing for over a million people in live performances and selling over 8 million records, she decided to pursue a solo path.  Prior to that, in 2012, she was named Best Female Vocalist at the Irish Music Awards.

Among many other acting and musical pursuits, Chloe has recently been touring a show called Chloe Agnew — An Irish Heart. The show features renowned Irish tenor Dermot Kiernan, Irish dancer Scott Porter, formerly of Riverdance and past producer and CEO of Celtic Woman, and all backed up by the distinguished Atlanta Pops Orchestra.

We are very fortunate to have this show coming to the Niswonger in Van Wert on St. Patrick’s Day this year.  As you can imagine, getting a show of this magnitude actually on St. Patrick’s Day is quite a coup for us at the Niswonger.

Last year, this show played at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center in Greeneville, Tennessee, and was so well received that Scott and Nikki Niswonger agreed to help us bring it to Van Wert.  We have called it our Founder’s Choice event. It will be a grand event on Saturday, March 17, beginning at 7:30 p.m.  Wear your green and don’t be surprised if you see other green surprises at the Niswonger that evening.

If you love beautiful music, with high stepping energetic dancing, angelic singing, and who knows what other surprises that may be a part of the evening, then you won’t want to miss this one.  It could be that one concert of the year everyone is talking about how amazed they were with it. There seems to be a handful of what I call “sleeper” concerts that just amaze people beyond their expectations!

You can get tickets online at www.npacvw.org or by calling the box office at 419.238.1743 between the hours of noon and 4 p.m. any day of the week. Bring a friend or friends and make grand, green evening out of it. Check our website for dining partners who will welcome you and help make your evening even more special before the Chloe Agnew — An Irish Heart concert with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra.  I can’t think of a better way to spend St. Patrick’s Day this year!

I would also like to remind non-profit organizations that they can enter the food vendor lottery for Fountain Park Summer Music concerts by contacting the Van Wert County Foundation office.  The only stipulation is that you are a non-profit organization in Van Wert or Paulding County and would have the ability to serve large crowds. We will be releasing the summer line-up of concerts soon.  Stay tuned and check out the media partner you are reading this article through.

Right now, though, think green and I’ll look forward to seeing you at the Niswonger on Saturday, March 17 for Chloe Agnew and the Atlanta Pops Orchestra.

FINÉ.