It’s odd, I think, how well all-things-Irish have been exported to the rest of the world. This is in part due to the exodus of Irish immigrants in the 19th century, but clearly there’s something pretty compelling about Celtic stuff. There isn’t a city in the free world that lacks an Irish bar, and everybody seems to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day like their family name is O’Malley.
Vancouver, for example, is probably the least Irish city in North America. Yet, it’s inaugurated CelticFest 2004, celebrating the culture, arts and music of the (so-called) Celtic community in a 6-day event. I’m all for a good street party, but this feels a tad ingenuine. In fact, it feels like a thinly-veiled marketing campaign by downtown merchants–check out the list of venues.
Regardless, I did notice this oddity in the festival program:
Sunday, 3pm – 4pm
Gaelic Football – Ireland vs. Australia
Gaelic Rules VS Aussie Rules in Andy Livingston Park
I trust this actually means ‘the Irish locals’ against ‘the Aussie locals’? It should be good for a laugh. In a uniquely Vancouver tradition, you have to walk collectively walk the field at Andy Livingston Park to look for discarded heroin needles.
DarrenBarefoot.com 
I like the “logo?” for the performing group “Celtic Spirit” (at the bottom of the list of venues). I’m sure they didn’t mean to be tongue-in-cheek, but “celtic symbol here” pretty much wraps up the whole festival: cashing in on what everyone thinks “Celtic” is all about.