6th Annual St. Patrick's Day Festival March 17, 2012

A full day of jigs, reels, green food and leprechauns will be featured at the 6th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Festival at the Orange County Market Place, the weekend swap meet at the O.C. Fair & Event Center,
on Saturday, March 17 from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

More than 100 world class Irish dancers from three Orange County academies, all boasting world champion titles, will perform throughout the day on the main stage donning their respective school’s distinctive colorful costumes while performing styles of jigs, reels and soft and hard shoe dance numbers.

Claddagh School of Irish Dancing (Lake Forest) kicks off the day performing at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., followed by Aniar Academy of Irish Dance (Laguna Niguel) at noon and 1 p.m. and Butler-Fearon O’Connor School of Irish Dance (Mission Viejo) at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Each show runs 30 to 45 minutes.

Other entertainment includes electric cellist Marston Smith offering old Celtic favorites from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on the ACE Stage with his unique six stringed electric cello of his own design mounted on medieval battle armor.

Strolling entertainment includes Irish magic and comedy with Abbit the Average Leprechaun, a giant Leprechaun on stilts and free face painting from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Green beer, green mint ice cream and green lemonade will be available along with some special Irish bill of fare from local gourmet food trucks including corned beef and cabbage tacos from Barcelona on the Go and corned beef fries offered by Spudrunners.
All entertainment is included with swap meet admission, which is $2, or
free for ages 12 and under.

The Festival is held in conjunction with the Orange County Market Place, the weekend swap meet at the O.C. Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, which features hundreds of vendors offering an abundance of products and services in a massive outdoor setting. Market Place hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Additional information may be obtained by visiting www.ocmarketplace.com or calling (949) 723-6660.

Official Website: http://www.ocmarketplace.com