North Texas Irish Festival

I went to the North Texas Irish Festival (@NTIF_scma) last night! I am not sure if I am strange about festivals or like this but I typically start looking for the food, music/performances, and exhibits (in that order). I am thankful there was a good mixture or "festival food" (like those tornado taters or elephant ears, the food you might like but later haunts you) and the actual Irish and European foods. I was especially happy to see food vendor (right outside automobile building) called Oz Highland Farms. It is strategically placed here because that end of the automobile building is where the Scottish Village is. Oh yes, potential festival go-Er, the vendor has Haggis. They have haggis pups (like haggis bites I guess), and they have Haggis and Mash. I got this and it was a bowl of mashed potatoes with a slice of what can only be described as Haggis Loaf. This was a smart way to do it since it is a fair and it was pretty close to what I remember Haggis tasting like in Scotland.Plenty of exhibitors and food vendors and the music was perfect. Bagpipes playing when you get out of the parking lot (stage is right there).Please note: Go to the NTIF website (https://www.ntif.org) and read the information about parking. Very important to follow those instructions no matter how you have gone to the fairgrounds in the past.

The festival it self is fun and reasonable to get in. Once in the food and beverages are sky high, a beer is 12 and not very good meat pie 11, the Irish stew in a bread bowl is 16 except oops they ran out of bread. A family of four would need a few hundred to get in and eat the minimum

This year's North Texas Irish Festival (2018) was a great event to bring the family and I did; 5 family members plus a date. Parking was further out than I had seen from previous years (I didn't make it in 2017) but had for 16+. Only issue was it was somewhat rainy and we did get a wee bit wet on our second trip of the year. The first trip was right at opening on Friday night and the first hour was free admission. The entrance ticket window was a little bit slow at park opening on the 2nd trip. Add to that, they had a delay in opening and we had to wait a while (20 minutes or so). A tip on getting drink and food tickets: do so after you get further into the festival. The first ticket location next to the gate is usually crowded. On our 2nd trip, a few of the ticket booths were told to hold off for a bit. Thus I came to a conclusion they just were not ready to open on time that day.Once you are in and have tickets, enjoy yourself as we did for 2 days. The Irish stew in a bread bowl is good even if slightly expensive. I tried the crepes which I hadn't seen before and they were quite good (a ham and cheese plus a Nutella). I was stunned on the second day to learn they had sold out of Bushmills at the whiskey tasting area. How does THAT happen?? Plenty of other drinks were available. There is more food than one could want and of all varieties! Nothing says Irish Festival better than tacos and pizza! There were even corn dogs.The wares and trinkets for sale are absolutely worth looking at. The fine metal jewelry artisans always have amazing works to examine. The other artisans have spectacular items as well. I am very fond on the Celtic Store booth each year that Rick brings; he always has something that I find I need. The other booths have t-shirts, trinkets, fanciful swords, kilts, bodices, caps, candles, and many other fair type items. You can even get a subscription the the Dallas Morning News! The kids have plenty of activities to keep them busy and room to run. There are plays and music more to their liking. There are many stages with many musicians plus groups performing on the steps of the Hall of State Building. Bagpipes and drums can be moving in spirit and feet. If you have a favorite group, look up on line or grab a schedule at the gate or information booths. There are some famous ones.The North Texas Raptor Center always has a wonderful exhibit with plenty of gorgeous animals you normally don't get to see that close. This year was no exception. The staff is very friendly and welcome question no matter how silly or complicated.Lastly, the most interesting thing I see every year is the people who visit. You will see all kinds of costumes, kilts, and oddness. It keeps the fair interesting. Nothing screams Irish more than a Star Wars Storm Trooper in a kilt (the kids loved it!).

My family came to the Irish festival every year when we lived in Dallas, and I was fortunate to overlap a trip here with its timing this year. I really like that many of the vendors and musicians are inside the various Fair Park buildings, so even if the weather is crummy it should not deter you. There were lots of vendors of various sorts, including household goods,(woodwork, pottery and more), clothing (get a flat cap, a kilt, or [like me] a Renaissance Faire type dress from the vendor Lost Island), jewelry (shout out to Amber Art by Hanna, from whom I bought jewelry at the Denton Arts and Jazz Festival for years), foodstuffs, and more. Spin the wheel at the booth for Scarborough Faire and win a koozy, necklace or other goodies! More of the eat-it-here foods were at booths outside and it was a mishmash of Celtic-type foods (yes they had haggis and yes I know it's Scottish not Irish...) and street fair foods (corn dogs and the like). Booths for drinks were dotted all over the venue, so wherever you got the urge for a pint of Guinness or a pear cider, it wasn't hard to find one. Drinks and food were purchased with coupons. At opening time on Friday night it was free to get in (otherwise $15 I believe), so you can save a few dollars and perhaps miss some of the crowds that way. Dogs are allowed at this festival, and we saw some amazing ones including Irish wolfhounds! Overall, I'm glad to see that this is a thriving festival in Dallas. So try on that kilt, raise a glass of porter, and enjoy! Slainte!

Loved visiting this festival today! Plenty of parking inside the gates. Lots of food, vendors, and entertainment throughout the day. We got there at 3pm Sunday and weren't disappointed. Most of the vendors didn't start packing up until 6ish.

I always enjoy going to different types of festivals. First time going to the Irish festival. People go all out for these things, so it's fun to people watch. Irish dancers, Irish singers, Irish Music, Irish Jewelry, and everything Irish. A lot of dogs and I believe they had an adoption area. I didn't know Greyhounds were Irish! Of course you look at all the booths, eat, and drink an Irish beer. There was the typical fair food, like Fletcher's corn dogs. Of course, my kids didn't leave without one. My husband had a Brat from Brathaus and it was delicious. I kinda waited until we roamed around the fair to find something to eat. Irish tacos (Rib eye and Mashed potatoes with gravy), Irish Stew, Corned beef and cabbage, Haggis n Mash, and some other Irishy foods. Of course, I went with something off the wall and got Haggis n Mash. Google says it contains sheep parts and the Dude didn't say what was in it. Really it tasted like a Salisbury Steak. I really should've got the corned beef and cabbage or Irish stew. Both smelled and looked so good. Plus, corned beef and cabbage is one of the few things I can make at home without screwing up!I enjoyed the festival and would go back the next years.

Not enough entertainments for the entrance price, it's more market with handcrafted beautiful things,but less as a festival. Irish stew was good,but mostly I love the hat,I bought at the place where it's only hats of all kinds of styles,so beautiful and fancy

I have been attending the NTIF since the 90's and it is always a lot of fun. This year, however, things were a bit different. Instead of being able to park in front where the entrance is, we were made to drive around to the back of the fair grounds, miles away, and take a tram. And we still had to pay $15 to do it. It was inconvenient and the parking attendants gave very bad directions. I saw some people park and walk in at the back, a great distance from where the festival was. I only found out about the tram because I stopped some guy in a golf cart and asked. Once we got in we noticed there were some things missing. Such as the whiskey bar in the Centennial Hall. Also, there were only 5 distilleries represented at the whiskey tasting. I love the NTIF, but this year was a bit disappointing.

We couldn't even get in after waiting in traffic for 45 minutes. They had closed all the gates except 2 and 13. Waited in a half-mile backup and finally gave up and left.

I have been going to the Irish Festival for 15 years or more since the faire changed management the parking situation and customer service has gotten really bad. I sat on a dirty curb eating my crepe. There were no tables or shaded areas for customers. The prices have gone up about 30 percent. They made me and my handicapped husband park far from the gate with no parking shuttle that was promised to us!