What a weekend! Mike and I are still feeling incredibly blessed—and honestly, a little overwhelmed—as we look back on our 3rd Annual Irish Festival: Shenanigans in the Hills.
This year, we rebranded the festival and made some changes to the logistics and layout, and we couldn’t be happier with how it came together. But more than anything, we accomplished what we set out to do: bring people together.
Not just our local community. Not just the Kansas City community. But people from all walks of life.
We wanted to create a place where, for one day, we could leave politics at the door, set aside our differences and opinions, and simply gather in an open space. A place to catch up with friends and neighbors, enjoy great music, discover talented vendors, eat, laugh, dance, and enjoy the day together.
And Mother Nature certainly did her part by giving us a beautiful day to do it!
That’s what it’s all about. That’s the true Irish spirit. And with that, I’d say—mission accomplished.
Of course, we couldn’t have pulled this off without an incredible group of people who helped make the day possible.
To Our Volunteers & Staff
To our amazing volunteers who generously gave their time and jumped in wherever they were needed—thank you! Festivals don’t happen without people willing to roll up their sleeves and get to work.
And to our Shamrock Hills staff, who were sometimes pulled between the tasting room and the festival and found themselves handling whatever situation popped up while Mike and I were running in a dozen different directions—you were rock stars. We appreciate you more than you know!
To Our Vendors
We were fortunate to have some incredibly talented vendors join us, and we loved showcasing their work:
David with As the Wood Turns, Wendy with Cool Quilting Lady, Tori with Cawman Crafts, the Crescent Apothecary, our cigar vendor, Jameson Distillery, Restless Spirits, and Abbey the Face Painter.
Thank you for bringing your talents, crafts and personalities to Shenanigans in the Hills!
To Our Musicians & Performers
And our entertainment lineup? Phenomenal!
Amadán, Into the Sun, Eddie Delahunt, The O’Riada-Manning School of Irish Dance, Stolen Apples, and the newcomers to our Irish Festival—but certainly not newcomers to the music scene—The Elders.
Every artist brought something special to the day. From traditional Irish music and dance to Celtic rock, they filled the hills with incredible music and helped bring the heart and culture of Ireland to Shamrock Hills.
We were incredibly fortunate to have such an amazing lineup.
A huge thank-you also goes to Chris Smedley with Smedley Sounds. He kept the music rolling and the entire day on schedule, making what I know was a tremendous amount of behind-the-scenes work look almost effortless!
To Our Sponsors
Our sponsors played a huge role in making this festival possible and helping us bring such an incredible lineup of entertainment to the hills.
Thank you to:
Bledsoe Construction
Shamrock Hills Vineyard & Winery
Shamrock Ranch Events
Chuck Anderson Ford
Itchin’ To Go Travel
Blue Sparrow Landscaping
The Kansas City Irish Center
American Legacy Construction
Bartlett Homes Construction
Your support truly helped bring Shenanigans in the Hills to life!
To Job Corps
Thank you to Job Corps and your team from the security education program for helping us throughout the day. We appreciate you giving your students the opportunity to put some of the lessons they’ve learned in the classroom into practice while helping us keep our festival running smoothly.
To Our Food Trucks
And let’s not forget McPappy’s and Costa Vida!
You kept our guests fed, happy and—most importantly—far away from hangry! 😂
A Little Irish Pub Magic
One of our favorite additions was the gathering of Irish musicians at the winery for a special session.
If you’ve ever been to an Irish pub in Ireland, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Musicians gathering together, picking up their instruments and simply playing because that’s what musicians do.
It was a little slice of Ireland right here at Shamrock Hills, and both our winery guests and festival guests loved it!
To Our MC
Mark Spohn—you were great as always! Thank you for keeping the crowd engaged, the laughs coming and everything moving along throughout the day.
From the live dancing and participation dance to the jigs, the laughs and a few swigs, it truly was a wonderful day.
And looking out across the festival grounds and seeing so many people enjoying themselves together was the best part of all.
And Finally, Our Charity Partner
I cannot wrap up this reflection without giving a very special thank-you to our charity partner, Bags of Fun–Kansas City.
We hope Shenanigans in the Hills gave us an opportunity to introduce more people to your incredible organization and the important work you do for critically ill children who are facing a hospital stay they never asked for.
We are honored to have had you with us and hope the festival helped shine a little more light on the amazing work you do.
So, as we close the book on the 3rd Annual Shenanigans in the Hills, Mike and I simply want to say THANK YOU.
Thank you for showing up.
Thank you for dancing.
Thank you for laughing.
Thank you for listening to the music.
Thank you for supporting our vendors and sponsors.
Thank you for raising a glass with us.And most importantly, thank you for coming together.
Because that’s the spirit we wanted to create—and that’s the spirit we hope you’ll carry with you long after the last song has played.
Until next year…
Sláinte! 🍀🍷