Above / These regulars have been playing as a team during WSI Quiz Nights for years! The first person to identify the year this trivia team photo was taken in the Cottage Room will win an extra prize March 1. (PN File Photo 2013)
Everybody’s Irish during the St. Patrick’s Day season!
Even more, many Naperville revelers think the annual time to celebrate Irish heritage for fun and frivolity is a year-round activity, beginning at 7PM on the first Tuesday of most months at Quigley’s Irish Pub. That’s when the West Suburban Irish Quiz Night welcomes teams of players to try their luck during rounds and rounds of trivia questions, derived from a world beyond the Emerald Isle. One of the award-winning teams that returns regularly is called “Our drinking team has a trivia problem.”
Monthly WSI Quiz Night
For February 2016, WSI Quiz Night was on Groundhog Day, Feb. 2. The four February quiz categories include Ones that Got Away, Star-Crossed Lovers, Immigration and Survey Says …
On March 1, 2016, a new set of quiz categories will welcome teams of players to pit their brains against others. Note: Electronic devices are forbidden.
The PN Bonus Question suggests “Identify the year this trivia team photo featured above was taken in the Cottage Room.” See the man with the microphone, WSI President Chuck Corrigan, and the first person with the correct answer to show up at Quigley’s on March 1, 2016, will win.
The Categories as well as the Web Bonus Question always are posted online a couple days prior to the next Quiz Night. Stay tuned.
WSI Emerald Dinner / Feb. 27
February also offers a more formal affair at the annual West Suburban Irish Emerald Dinner on Sat., Feb. 27, at White Eagle Golf Club.
“We’re excited for the 20th Anniversary Emerald Dinner,” said Chuck Corrigan recently, noting that Lynda Reilly again is chairman of the event. “This is our biggest fundraiser and our biggest Irish party of the year! It helps pay for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and other Irish cultural activities throughout the year, and extra funds are annually donated to St. Baldrick’s Foundation to help conquer kids’ cancer. Everyone attending has a wonderful time, and it is sure to sell out again this year.”
Reservations ($65 per person) are now being accepted at www.wsirish.org.
More at Quigley’s Irish Pub / Feb. 28 & March 1
Then head to Quigley’s Irish Pub for complimentary “Pictures with the Leprechaun” from 11AM to 2PM Sun., Feb. 28, followed by another WSI Quiz Night on Tues., March 1, where fun and frolic are front and center as teams with silly names seriously vie for even sillier prizes during monthly trivia events.
St. Paddy’s Day 5K / St. Patrick’s Parade / March 12
Now also is the time to register for the Rotary Sunrise St. Paddy’s Day 5K that begins at 8AM on Sat., March 12, as well as the annual West Suburban Irish St. Patrick’s Parade that follows the run at 10AM in downtown Naperville.
“As always, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade promises a variety of entertainment, community groups, businesses, and more. New to the lineup this year are the West Aurora Blackhawk Marching Band, which boasts over 280 members!” Corrigan said.
“This band might be the largest entry in the history of the Parade, and is probably bigger than the entire Parade was in its first year!”
Corrigan said organizers expect the return of perennial favorites, including several bagpipe and drum groups, Shriner groups, and floats. Collectible scarves with two new Irish-theme designs also will be available to purchase for $5 each.
“The West Suburban Irish Parade Queen and her Court, including young Rosebuds, will have their own float, and club members will be marching carrying Irish and American flags,” he said.
Registration for the Parade is ongoing via wsirish.org.
WSI Irish Mass / March 15
According to Corrigan, the Irish Mass is slated for a new day and location beginning at 6:30PM on Tues., March 15, at St. Raphael Church.
“We’ll be at St. Raphael Church on Modaff Road in Naperville, and the Mass and Soda Bread Reception will be tucked in between the Parade on March 12 and St. Patrick’s Day on March 17,” said Corrigan. “We hope to have a great turnout for this event.
St. Patrick’s Day at Quigley’s / March 17
Annual festivities will continue at Quigley’s Irish Pub on St. Patrick’s Day, Thurs., March 17, where live music will resonate throughout the original Irish pub that depicts authenticity in downtown Naperville.
‘I Am Ireland’
The month when folks put on a little green will wrap up with the historic perspective of “I Am Ireland” on Sat., March 19, on the campus of North Central College.
“To mark the significant 100th year anniversary of the Easter Rising in Dublin, North Central College has scheduled a wonderful show called ‘I Am Ireland,’ which tells the story of the years leading up to 1916 with song and story,” said Corrigan.
“I Am Ireland” features Irish singer Paddy Homan, and world class musicians beginning at 8PM Sat., March 19, at Wentz Concert Hall. Tickets are on sale through the North Central College web site.
“Every free Irish man and woman should honor the memory of the brave Irishmen and women who participated in the Easter Rising, and no better way than attending the ‘I Am Ireland’ concert,” added Corrigan.
Then at 7PM on April 5, like the whiskers on Michael Finnegan’s chin, WSI Irish Quiz Nights on the first Tuesday of the month will begin again.
