SPECIAL EVENTS

The 38th Houston International Festival is honored to spotlight Ireland as the country of honor for the 2009 festival. Ireland is one of the world's most popular and fastest growing tourist destinations and its influence will infuse the entire festival from the music and main stages to the educational exhibits in the Chevron Living Museum. 2009 iFest is one not to be missed.

Featuring diverse and celebrated music and dance groups from around the world. Seven international entertainment-themed zones feature performers from around the world, from Cajun, zydeco, blues and rock, to country, folk, Latin and reggae. Zones include Ireland, International, Target Kids, Louisiana, Texas/Latin, Jamaica and African/Caribbean.

iFest, known as one of the nation’s largest presenters of world music, features hundreds of internationally acclaimed artists on 12 performance venues throughout downtown Houston. Seven themed entertainment zones showcase a world of cultures, cuisines and customs.

The festival features diverse and celebrated music and dance groups from around the world including: funk legends, The Ohio Players; Chicano roots-rockers, Los Lobos; soul/gospel queen, Mavis Staples; South African jazz trumpeter, Hugh Masekela; Boston’s celebrated Irish-American lasses, Cherish the Ladies; Algerian-born, Rachid Tahad; Jamaica’s Rootz Underground; Ireland’s hottest new band, Beoga from County Down; and Cajun, zydeco, blues, rock, gospel, Latin and reggae.

The festival is located in the heart of downtown Houston. It stretches across 16 acres of downtown parks and streets including City Hall, Bagby Street, and Tranquility and Sam Houston Parks.

IRELAND ZONE: The centerpiece of this year’s Festival, the Ireland Zone, will celebrate the rich history and cultural influences of Ireland, spanning from City Hall to Upper Sam Houston Park. A replica of the legendary Blarney Castle, a world landmark built nearly 600 years ago by one of Ireland’s greatest chieftains and a reproduction of an Irish crannog, an ancient settlement/artificial island built for fortification, will highlight the Chevron Ireland Living Museum in Upper Sam Houston Park. Visitors will be encouraged to try wattling, the traditional method of weaving the walls and fences of a structure with branches. Interactive exhibits and artisan demonstrations depicting the arts, culture and history of Ireland, from the Flight of the Earls and Irish literature and history, to a display about the Golden Age of Christianity and Irish in America, will emphasize this year’s Irish theme.

The Ireland Zone will host performances by Beoga, a five-piece traditional band based in County Antrim, Ireland. Festive Irish dance groups will gather on Center Stage, which spans the reflection pool at City Hall, to entertain festival-goers. A traditional Irish Pub across from Center Stage will bear a resemblance to an Irish pub straight from the streets of Dublin.

The H-E-B Cultural Stage will feature the song, dance, cuisine and fashions of Ireland. Celebrity and local chefs will host cooking demonstrations daily with traditional Irish cuisine. Visitors will also enjoy cultural performances and a fashion show highlighting customary Irish kilts and costumes.

INTERNATIONAL  MARKETS: An outdoor international art gallery and shopping experience offering numerous arts markets and international craft demonstrations featuring works from more than 500 artists from all over the world. Markets will include Irish, Gypsy, International, African-Caribbean, Bayou, Latin and Fine Arts Avenue.

INTERNATIONAL FOOD: In addition to authentic Irish cuisine, the festival will offer flavors from around the world pleasing all palates. Selections include Cajun, Creole, Caribbean, Mediterranean, Thai, Italian, Japanese, as well as Southwestern and Continental.

EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL: The Festival's 22nd consecutive Education Program features the Teacher's Curriculum Guide produced by the Houston International Festival. The guide will be distributed to more than 1,400 campuses in seven counties across Texas including HISD, Harris County, Galveston and Fort Bend.  The guide is available to a potential 900,000 students who will learn about the culture and history of Ireland through the Festival's Curriculum Guide.

SPECIAL EVENTS:

Opening Ceremony
Friday, April 17 at 11 a.m. – Center Stage at City Hall

The Mayor’s Gala
Thursday, April 16 at 7:30 p.m. – Hilton Americas Houston

This fundraising gala dinner hosted by Mayor Bill White of the City of Houston and Mrs. Andrea White honors visiting dignitaries and Houston’s Consular Corps. Proceeds benefit the Houston Festival Foundation’s year-round arts, education and outreach programs.

The Festival will take place April 18-19 and April 25-26, 2009. Hours are: Saturdays, Noon to 10 p.m.; Sundays, Noon to 9 p.m. The Festival will also host a free lunchtime concert on Friday, April 17 following the official ribbon-cutting and opening day ceremonies at 11 a.m. on Center Stage.

The 2009 Houston International Festival, honoring Ireland, is proud to announce the music lineup showcasing a host of top artists from around the globe. The 38th annual Festival returns to downtown Houston April 18-19 and 25-26, 2009, featuring continuous music, dance and cultural performances on 12 stages.

Headlining the Bud Light World Music Stage in Lower Sam Houston Park are funk legends the Ohio Players, April 18; soul/gospel queen Mavis Staples, April 19; South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela, April 25; and Chicano roots-rockers Los Lobos, hosting the festival’s “Celtic/Conjunto” finale, April 26. International acts include Nigeria’s Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, Puerto Rico’s Plena Libre, Jamaica’s Rootz Underground and the Wailing Souls, Guinea’s Alpha YaYa Diallo and Quebec’s Chic Gamine, joined by Louisiana’s homegrown R&B/soul crooner Marc Broussard. Each year, iFest’s World Stage puts the best of world music next to the finest American roots music to demonstrate how music can communicate across cultural and linguistic barriers. This year’s lineup is one of our greatest yet.

Traditional Celtic music and dance will be showcased on Center Stage, built over the Reflection Pool in front of Houston’s City Hall. Headliners include Ireland’s hottest new band, Beoga, from County Down; Boston’s celebrated Irish-American lasses, Cherish the Ladies; and Scotland’s enchanting Gaelic thrush, Julie Fowlis. These incredible artists will be joined each night by an all-star team of Houston’s champion Irish dancers, drawn from the local troupes McTeggart, O’Maoileidigh and Cass. While guests enjoy the fantastic entertainment lineup on Center Stage, unique eats will be close by in the surrounding food court.

After a five-year absence, the Texas Stage returns to the Library Plaza in 2009, thanks to a generous grant from the Houston Endowment. The programming on this stage recreates the 2008 Smithsonian Folklife Festival’s salute to Texas music, with headliners Marcia Ball, April 18; CJ Chenier, April 19; Little Joe y la Familia, April 25; and Los Tres Reyes de Accordiones with Flaco Jimenez, Joel Guzman and Jaime deAnda, April 26. The carefully curated lineup represents the state’s unique country, blues, gospel, Hispanic and Cajun heritage, including El Paso’s fabulous Mariachi Los Arrieros, Big Spring’s legendary Jody Nix and the Texas Cowboys, Bay City’s spirit-raising Jones Family Singers, Austin singer-songwriter Terri Hendrix, San Antonio’s conjunto accordion kings Los Texmaniacs and Houston’s own ageless blues guitar hero, Texas Johnny Brown. The Houston International Festival is proud to bring the Smithsonian’s hugely successful musical tribute in Washington D.C. back to the Lone Star State.

The Louisiana Stage in Tranquility Park will feature the distinctive Gulf Coast musical gumbo audiences. Dance to the world’s best Cajun and zydeco bands, including BeauSoleil, Keith Frank, Step Rideau, J. Paul Jr., Lil Brian Terry, Lil Malcolm, Cedric Watson, Feufollet and the Lost Bayou Ramblers. Step out to New Orleans second-line funk with Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Soul Rebels and the Zulu Connection Mardi Gras Indians. Groove to the Gulf Coast blues of Sherman Robertson, Mike Zito and Ezra Charles. This stage is one of the most popular Festival destinations.

The Irish Pub Stage, located on the front steps of Houston City Hall, will serve up world-class Irish sessions hosted by the great fiddler from County Cork, Kevin Burke, along with authentic Irish pub grub and brew. Joining Kevin and his trio each day will be top regional Irish and Celtic artists such as Danny O’Flaherty, Lonestar Stout, Clandestine and Constant Billy, as well as acoustic Texas artists the Quebe Sisters Band, Les Amis Creole, Charles Thibodeaux and the Gillette Brothers. Each day, a programming segment will be dedicated to Texas artists meeting Irish artists to demonstrate the Celtic connection to regional country, Cajun and Creole traditions.

The Chron.com Houston Stage, on the patio on the backside of City Hall, is a great place for Festival-goers to camp out for a few hours, enjoy the shade and a cold beverage while listening to a variety of music genres. At this year’s Festival, the stage will present a stylistically diverse mix of the top local and regional bands, including Irish rockers the Blaggards, the Killdares and Needfire; honky-tonker James Hand; gospel shouters the Original Soul Invaders; polka stompers Mark Halata & Texavia; and Zydeco party hounds Big Red & the Playmakers and the Zydeco Dots.

The H-E-B Cultural Stage and the Gaelic Stage, both located in the Living Museum area of Upper Sam Houston Park, represent the cultural heart of this year’s Irish theme. From harps, bagpipes and story-telling bards to Irish step-dance lessons, cooking demonstrations and literary readings, these stages honor the ongoing ancestral connection between Ireland and the Irish in America. Each Festival day will kick-off with a marching bagpipes band parade from the Gaelic Stage to Center Stage.

The Latin Stage, which alternates set times in Library Plaza with the Texas Stage, features a culturally diverse mix of Flamenco, Mariachi, Ballet Folklorico, Conjunto, Salsa, and Spanish Celtic music. African drumming, dancing and Caribbean parades will fill Lower Tranquility Park, where the new African-Caribbean Zone picks up where last year’s festival honoring the theme “Out of Africa” left off.

The Target International Kids Stage in the Target Kids Zone will again present a daily variety of ethnic dance troupes and youth groups showcasing Houston’s abundance of international diversity – from Africa and Asia to Europe and the Americas. Of course, the local Irish dance troupes will be prominently featured each day with their colorful costumes and golden curls. And offering further evidence of Houston’s importance as an international center, the Sister Cities Stage features excellent music and dance programming presented by the local Sister Cities Associations. 

All proceeds benefit the Festival arts and education programs.

For more information on the 2009 Houston International Festival, call 713-654-8808 or access the Festival’s official website at www.ifest.org.