Entertainment
15 March, 2024
Have a craic at BAR36
THE luck of the Irish is gracing The Reef Hotel Casino this Sunday for a very green St Patrick’s Day celebration with live music, roving characters, giveaways and traditional Irish dance by the hands of the iconic City of Cairns Irish and Highland Dancers.
The Paddy’s Party starts this Sunday (March 17) at BAR36 from 2pm with a live music performance by local acoustic four-piece band Shehade featuring Mick O’Meara and Peter Ella who’ll bring traditional tunes and cool classics, roving characters dressed in their Leprechaun’s best, giveaways, and two iconic performances by the legendary City of Cairns Irish and Highland Dancers.
Casino entertainment manager Bruce Stewart said this craic was made local-style.
“We’re getting the party started at 2pm, opening BAR36 two hours early for a Sunday session and this year we wanted to focus on local entertainment,” he said.
“We kick it off with local band Shehade with Mick O’Meara famous in the Cairns scene and some very nice musicians to get your toes tapping, and we’ll have roving characters walking around all day handing out Irish sweets.
“Our main event – the City of Cairns Irish and Highland Dancers – have a high impact show with student dancers ranging from five-year-olds up to adults, beautifully costumed, with not only traditional tunes but also contemporary songs. They’ll be coming out at 3.30pm and will have another show at 4.30pm with the party going until 7pm.
“We’ve always celebrated St Paddy’s but this year we wanted to keep it local. The Irish bars get really busy and we offer nice entertainment and a celebration of Cairns’ Celtic heritage.”
With a history of over 40 years in Cairns, the City of Cairns Highland and Irish Dancers have also have joined the internationally acclaimed OzScot Australia Highland Dancing Team and have performed at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo (Scotland), The Oman Tattoo (Oman), the Virginia International Tattoo (USA) , the Basel International Tattoo (Switzerland), the 2010 Edinburgh Military Tattoo (Sydney), and more.
Mr Stewart encouraged people to get their green suits out to celebrate the best of Celtic traditions with the community this Sunday.
“Highland and Irish dance is very traditional in Cairns. 40 years ago they had very big Celtic celebrations in Cairns, and we want to honour that history,” he said.
“Come along, it’ll be a nice afternoon with traditional Irish flavour, free to attend, and we’ll give it a good craic.”
All shows are free at BAR36 at the Reef Hotel Casino
