Kick up your heels at Fox Valley Irish Fest

No need to fly across the pond to get in on all that Irish fun.

With beer and whiskey tastings, vendors offering phenomenal Irish fare, crafts and games for the kids and, of course, the hottest Irish bands around, the second annual Fox Valley Irish Fest is the biggest Irish party the Chicago suburbs have ever seen.

The festival begins at 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, at RiverEdge Park, 360 N. Broadway, Aurora.

There's a little Irish in all of us - come celebrate the food, drink, music and spirit of the Emerald Isle at the Park.

There's something for the whole family at Irish Fest. There's a huge children's play area filled with crafts and games, Irish beer will be flowing, and tons of cool vendors will be offering authentic Irish food, gifts and more. Then, when the sun starts to go down over the green hills of the park, three of the hottest Irish bands light up the night.

Irish Dancers: McNulty Irish Dancers will be returning. They will be doing Irish dance lessons on the stage at 3:45 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., as well as performing during the earlier hours of the festival. Keigher Academy of Irish Dance will also be performing at this year's festival. Their performances will be on the lower stage in between the Irish bands.

Children Activities: Free face painting, Friendly Farms Petting Zoo, Kids' Bean Bag area and Jumpity Hoppity bounce house included with the price of admission. Mike Cherry and the Irish Wolfhounds will be back again this year. There will be Irish coloring crafts in the kids area that will give parents and children alike the chance to get creative in the shade.

Adult Activities: Jameson Shakeups will be returning. The Jameson Tasting has a new location this year for easier access: next to the river down the stairs on the west side of the park.

Contests: Freckle Contest at 4 p.m.; Ice Cream Eating Contest at 4:45 p.m.; and Best Legs in a Kilt Contest at 5:30 p.m.

Bags Tournament: Tournaments will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Two players per team, 18 and older. Only 32 teams.

Schedule Of Bands: Starting the nighttime entertainment is Brendan Loughrey at 5 p.m. Hailing from County Donegal, Ireland, this guy knows how to bring the sounds of the Emerald Isle to life. After his powerful, heartfelt renditions of traditional Irish songs made him a local celebrity in his hometown, Brendan followed his passion for music across the Atlantic - and things have never been the same. From his first gig in a Nashville pub to opening for Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Berry and Sting, Brendan has entertained thousands of people around the country with his cool, modern spin on classic songs from the Motherland.

Then the Ploughboys take the stage at 6:30 p.m. When these guys started out, they were just a couple of talented buddies playing St. Patrick's Day house parties. Since then, they've turned their passion for traditional Celtic music into a huge traveling house party, becoming one of Chicago's favorite Irish bands along the way. And not only will they perform their massive catalog of traditional Irish tunes, The Ploughboys will take the RiverEdge Park stage to play your favorite hits from the Beatles, BoDeans, Paul Simon and more - all with a cool Celtic twist.

Then at 8:30 p.m., Blaggards bring us home for Irish Fest. To give you an idea of how cool these four rockers are, they've been called "Flogging Molly with six-shooters and a bottle." Their "Stout Irish Rock" style is influenced by everyone from Dropkick Murphys to Johnny Cash, Elvis to Black Sabbath and beyond. Their hard-rock take on traditional songs from Ireland is a total blast. And to top it all off, these guys are known to have a good time. When they hit the stage, you'll see what we mean.

Tickets: Ages 15 and older, $10; Ages 14 and younger: $5; Kids age 2 and younger, free.

For this event, there will be limited bench seating available directly in front of the stage on either side. Bag chairs are allowed to be set up in this area. The rest of the park is general admission for bag chairs. Bag chairs and blankets are also allowed on the grassy hill.

Events at RiverEdge Park will take place rain or shine. In the event of a cancellation due to weather, a credit in the amount of the face value of your ticket will be issued to your customer account. The credit may be used toward a future ticket purchase for performances at RiverEdge Park or Paramount Theatre. No refunds will be issued.

Parking: Parking for this event is $2 at the Aurora Transportation Center/Metra Lot. You will need to self-pay at one of the five ticket machines located in the main lot to pay for parking. Four of the ticket machines are located in the center of the lot and one at the south/east corner by the ramp to the train platform. You must enter your license plate number to use the pay machines, so please have your license plate number ready. Pay machines accept credit/debit cards (Discover, Visa, MasterCard, American Express) and cash. If you are paying in cash, be sure to bring exact change. Pay machines do not dispense change. You may be ticketed or towed if you fail to pay. Additional parking is in downtown Aurora. Fees vary.