***Listen to the conversation between POST news director Canon Rath and North Platte Catholic School's Wendy Dodson as the duo chats about this Sunday's event.
NORTH PLATTE – Sunday, March 2nd, the North Platte Catholic Schools will hold the 50th annual Irish Fest celebration at St. Patrick’s High School, 500 S. Silber, from 12:00 Noon to 3:00 p.m. The entire community is invited to get into the Irish spirit with a day full of family fun! The event features a homemade roast beef dinner, mini carnival games and prizes, Fun Jumpz, a silent auction, bake sale, and raffle. The event is open to the public and all proceeds support the North Platte Catholic Schools.
This year’s Irish Fest Raffle offers the following prizes: $500 cash, two $250 Kwik Stop gift cards, $200 Dave’s Place March Madness, $250 SCRIP certificate, and a MacBook Air laptop. Raffle tickets are $2.00 each and are on sale now at any of the North Platte Catholic Schools offices, or from any North Platte Catholic Schools student. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the event on March 2nd. The raffle drawing will be held at 2:50 p.m., and you do not have to be present to win.
The Irish Fest silent auction will be held online. Anyone is welcome to bid by registering at: www.bidpal.net/irishfest25. Bidding will open at 12:00 p.m. on March 1st, and will close at 2:45 p.m. on February 25th.
Irish Fest, originally called “Mardi Gras,” was first celebrated by the North Platte Catholic Schools on Tuesday, February 11, 1975. In the early years it was held on Fat Tuesday prior to the start of the Lenten season. Later it was changed to Sunday, and has been a tradition since. For the past 50 years, Irish Fest has involved hundreds
of volunteers and proceeds have provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to the operating budget of the North Platte Catholic School system.