Erin go bragh! Come celebrate all things Irish at the County Sumner Irish Festival on March 9, 2024 from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. at Bledsoe’s Fort Historic Park in Castalian Springs, Tennessee. The park houses Hugh Rogan’s 1790s authentic Irish cottage.
Celebrating Irish Culture, there will be fun for the entire family, including lots of live Irish music and step dancers. The event also includes guided hikes along an historic trail that runs alongside a settler cemetery and remnants of a 19th-century spring house; Irish football demonstrations by the Nashville Gaelic Association; storytelling; craft beer from Half Batch Brewing; historic house tours; kids’ activities; vendors; and food trucks.
Wear your favorite Irish-themed attire to participate in the costume contest, pets included. Just think of shamrocks, leprechauns and green everything. Prizes will be given away for best costumes!
Many people don’t know that blue was the color associated with St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, but green is linked to the country through its flag, and its nickname, “The Emerald Isle,” due to the rolling hills of green.
Organized by Sumner County Tourism, they ask that no outside food or drinks be brought to the site. In the event that it rains, the festival will be rescheduled for Sunday, March 10, 2024 from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.
Admission is $15 per vehicle, please do not purchase multiple tickets for individuals. Purchase tickets here in advance for a small discount. Tickets sold at the door are cash only.
Bledsoe’s Fort Historical Park is located at 2901 Hartsville Pike, Castalian Springs, Tennessee. The park is named after Isaac Bledsoe, the founder of Bledsoe’s Station, one of a series of small fort-like outposts erected to protect settlers flooding to the area from the eastern seaboard after the Revolutionary War from hostile Indians. Both Isaac and his brother Anthony, a Colonel in revolutionary forces, were killed by Indians prior to the end of the American-Cherokee Wars in 1794. The two brothers were instrumental in settling the area now known as Sumner County. It became a park in 1989 founded by the county and Bledsoe’s descendants.
