The last weekend in August every year, the St. Patrick Society of Peoria partners with the Peoria Park District to host the Peoria Irish Fest on the Peoria RiverFront. Over the years, Peoria Irish Fest (Erin Feis) has grown from a Sunday afternoon picnic to a 3-Day Irish Festival.  Although the venue has changed and the scope of activities and entertainment has grown exponentially since that first picnic, we still provide a time and place for friends and families to join together and share their interest in Irish traditions.

The first day of Peoria Irish Fest is called “The Gathering,” the second is “The Day,” and the last is “The Scattering.”  During the three days of the event, attendees can enjoy a variety of musicians from around Peoria, the country, or the world, playing both traditional and more modern Irish music, Irish dancers from a variety of Irish Dance Schools, and learn more about Irish traditions in our Cultural Village.

Also featured during the festival, the Ancient Athletic sporting competition is conducted featuring the Sheaf Toss, Caber Toss, Stone Put, Hammer Throw, Braemar Stone/Open Stone—heavyweight for distance and lightweight for distance.