Annual Queens Irish Heritage Festival this Saturday afternoon

The New York Irish Center will present three continuous hours of music and dance set against Manhattan’s skyline at the annual Queens Irish Heritage Festival on this Saturday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Co-presented by McManus Irish Dance and F. Ottomanelli By The Water, the free, picnic-style event at the Hunters Point South Park, in Long Island City, includes activities like free face-painting, balloon making and more.

Cillian Vallely.

Among the featured performers are folk balladeer Allen Gogarty; Irish fiddler and step dancer Bernadette Fee; Queens country singer Cathy Maguire, uilleann piper Cillian Vallely, the McCourt Family’s Gigi Eugenie McCourt, folk artist from Ireland Kevin McCormack; and the husband and wife folk duo Bob and Bronagh Batch.

Folk dance and music performances will be courtesy of McManus Irish Dance; NY Studio of Irish Dance; Sunnyside/Maspeth Children's Trad Group, and the Shannon Gaels.

McManus Irish Dance.

Food concessions for purchase are by F. Ottomanelli by the Water.  Pre-registered guests receive a 10 percent discount on food at the F. Ottomanelli kiosk. 

To pre-register, visit www.newyorkirishcenter.org.

The organizers say visitors can “stop by any time between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.” The closest subway is the 7 train, Vernon Jackson stop, which is a less than 3-minute ride from Grand Central.