Monday, September 01, 2008

HOOLEY ON HUDSON 2008


Terrific! By all accounts, this year’s Hooley on Hudson was one of the best.

Perfect weather, well managed shuttles, acres of talent and such a variety of foods and apparel. It was like being at the Celtic County Fair, only no livestock.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians AOH did a great job and deserve much credit for the smooth operation. I think the well behaved crowd also deserves some credit. Why is it that some events spawn drunken brawls and others don’t?

One thing I didn’t expect, as I wandered through the tent city, there was this vaguely familiar voice singing a Celtic song from the stage area. I got to the gazebo and what did I see? Maurice Hinchey belting out a classic at the microphone! The guy never ceases to amaze me.

As you would expect, the politicos were working the crowd.
Hey…you can’t blame them. It’s a family event and everyone was in a good mood. Time to meet the people.

Kevin Cahill, Dave Donaldson, Mike Hein, Elliot Auerbach, Len Bernardo, Glen Noonan, Larry Delarose and the Aldermen: Teetsel, Hoffay, DiBella, Polacco, Senor and I made our presence known throughout the day. It was a good day.

Jim Noble made a good stage hand between acts, and there were some talented groups up there with the grand finally Celtic Cross rockin the Rondout until closing.
Our downtown business owners were happy once again, thanks to an unending flow of hungry and thirsty attendees.
Congratulations AOH!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Almost every city in the country had events this weekend.
Im happy to live in Kingston.

The community is small enough that you get to know half the crowd, and yet big enough to make it a rockin party.

Sure there are rowdy events in Kingston, but even the county fair has its brawl once in a while.

A shout out to AOH - Well done!

Anonymous said...

So what if the Irish Club makes a few bucks - they donate to a local Miss Irish Scholarship and many local musicians receive needed $ for playing in the bands - the overtime paid to fire, police, DPW and task force members stays in our community.

Anonymous said...

This group is not tax-exempt, it's a social club like a golf or gin club - they discriminate on nationality and religion.

Anonymous said...

You missed mentioning our Mayor, Jim Sottile. Was Jim absent from yet another city celebration?

Anonymous said...

It's better the Mayor stay away - he's got other issues.