The Noriega Restaurant and Hotel was filled with the sound of bagpipes, March 12, as people came to experience the Kern River Celtic Association’s seventh annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
At $28 a plate, the celebration included a family-style Basque dinner with corned beef and cabbage, and live entertainment from Celtic band Whiskey Galore.
According to Jack Turnbull, coordinator of the event, the KRCA wanted this to be a more traditional Irish celebration devoid of all the stereotypical drinking party elements. “We wanted a celebration that was sort of authentic Irish American, no gimmicks, no rock music, no green beer [and no] people dressed up like stupid little leprechauns.”
When asked why he chose Whiskey Galore to be the band for this event he said, “they have a pub style, [it’s] clap your hands, tap your toes folk music of the heritage. The idea was to have a cordial but high spirited evening without all the gimmicks.”
According to Turnbull, the KRCA is a nonprofit club that puts on a few other events during the year but this is their biggest celebration. For this event, they only charge enough to cover their costs but any proceeds for events they do get go to needy causes around Bakersfield. “Whenever we do make money, we give it away. We seldom make money because we try to keep the ticket price down.”
KRCA member Janice Brown, 61, spent most of the evening getting up from her meal and dancing to the music. “This is very fun for me, my feet just start to tap. I feel the music and I move.”
Brown has been to every one of the KRCA’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and will continue to come back every year. “It’s what people should do. People should just get out and enjoy themselves.”
The KRCA originally started out from members of the Kern Scottish Society. “The five of us that started this Celtic association are former members of the Kern Scottish Society and we formed this group because we wanted to do some things a little differently, including having a real St. Patrick’s Day celebration,” said Turnbull.
According to Turnbull the best part of the celebration is the band. “If anything comes out of this, I’d just like to see them get gigs.” In a speech he made at the beginning of the night he said, “if it wasn’t for them, half of you wouldn’t be here.”
Former Bakersfield College student Stephanie Johnson, 23, said she really enjoyed coming to this event with her family. “I liked the different instruments they had and I liked the Irish songs.” She also said the food was great, and she loved the cabbage soup.
Carl Guilford, 54, came because he was a good friend of one of the band members and he loves the music they play. “I always send their CDs to my friends and relatives on the East Coast.”
Guilford, who was the chieftain of the KSS in 2000, said the Noriega Restaurant sets this event apart from others. “What I like about this, is that this is probably the closest thing to a real Irish pub there is in Bakersfield. It has that old European feel about it.”
Mike Bowan, 37, drummer and vocalist for Whiskey Galore said, “We like playing at Noriega’s because the KRCA are friends of ours, and it’s very personable,” he said. He added that people of all ages can enjoy it. “It’s multi-generational.”
“We get more people at this place that know the lyrics to every song and where to clap and when to join in,” said Kevin Briley, 35, bagpipe player for the band. “This is a piece of Bakersfield history.”