StepCrew stomps Norfolk Library for St. Patrick’s Day

StepCrew stomps Norfolk Library for St. Patrick’s Day

StepCrew performed to a sold-out audience at the Norfolk Library Sunday, March 17.

Mike Cobb

As legend has it, St. Patrick was brought to the Emerald Isle when he was kidnapped by pirates and enslaved.

Though he eventually escaped, he returned and advanced Christianity throughout the island, according to his short biography, the “Confessio.”

Today, Patrick is regarded as the patron saint of Ireland, and the day is celebrated with religious feasts and services. When it reached the United States via Irish immigrants, St. Patrick’s Day became a secular celebration of Irish culture.

On Sunday, March 17, at 5:30 p.m., the Norfolk Library presented a sold-out spectacle celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. The event featured The StepCrew, an Irish dance group that balances traditional and modern forms of step dance.

The dancers were supported by three fiddlers and an amazing five-piece ensemble comprising members of The Chieftains, Cherish the Ladies, and Bowfire Virtuosic.

Led by Cara Butler, who is well known as The Chieftains’ top Irish dancer, and supported by brothers Jon and Nathan Pilatzke, who are highly regarded as Canada’s leading step dancers, The StepCrew presented a stunning array of dances fusing Ottawa Valley step dance, Irish step dance, and Tap, showing the similarities and differences between each style.

The event was curated by Norfolk Library events planner Eileen Fitzgibbons, an Irish American who brings her passion for Irish culture to Norfolk every year by booking top-notch acts from Ireland and around the world. With the luck of the Irish on her side, Fitzgibbons found the group serendipitously.

“It’s the Norfolk Library Associates’ 50th anniversary this year,” said Fitzgibbons. “They wanted me to find a special band, though all the bands I have booked are special. I was looking for a group we had not had before. I got a call from Cara Butler, who had just had lunch with Kevin Crawford from the amazing Irish band Lúnasa. We had them about five years ago. Her band StepCrew had just had a cancellation on St. Patrick’s Day, a sad thing for sure, and she asked Kevin if he had any ideas. He said to call Eileen Fitzgibbons at the Norfolk Library, and the next thing you know, they are coming. A tip of my hat to Sarah at Wildwood [The old Mountain View Inn] for letting the Crew take over her B&B.”

The StepCrew wowed the audience with a mix of traditional Irish and more modern forms of dance such as tap. The group used the performance both to entertain and to educate by showing the dance styles in their pure form as well the fusion of and connection between different styles. For example, at times the group transitioned from Irish dance by letting the music drop out so that the dancers could perform tap, then launched back into Irish step.

Finding the revelry irresistible, the musicians broke out into dance at times as well. Toward the end of the show, the audience was invited to learn steps and danced with the group.

Attendee Stella Mae Cobb said: “They were perfectly coordinated and were in sync beautifully. It was similar to Riverdance. The performance was engaging and masterful. I loved it.”

“Craic” is the Irish word for good time. Judging by the joyous expressions on the faces of the crowd, good craic was had by all.

For more information on The StepCrew, follow them at stepcrew.com

Latest News

Join us for


 

  

Keep ReadingShow less
Summer Nights of Canaan

Wednesday, July 16

Cobbler n’ Cream
5 to 7 p.m.
Freund’s Farm Market & Bakery | 324 Norfolk Rd.

Canaan Carnival
6 to 10 p.m.
Bunny McGuire Park

Keep ReadingShow less
When the guide gets it wrong

Rosa setigera is a native climbing rose whose simple flowers allow bees to easily collect pollen.

Dee Salomon

After moving to West Cornwall in 2012, we were given a thoughtful housewarming gift: the 1997 edition of “Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs.” We were told the encyclopedic volume was the definitive gardener’s reference guide — a fact I already knew, having purchased one several months earlier at the recommendation of a gardener I admire.

At the time, we were in the thick of winter invasive removal, and I enjoyed reading and dreaming about the trees and shrubs I could plant to fill in the bare spots where the bittersweet, barberry, multiflora rose and other invasive plants had been.Years later, I purchased the 2011 edition, updated and inclusive of plants for warm climates.

Keep ReadingShow less
A few highlights from Upstate Art Weekend 2025

Foxtrot Farm & Flowers’ historic barn space during UAW’s 2024 exhibition entitled “Unruly Edges.”

Brian Gersten

Art lovers, mark your calendars. The sixth edition of Upstate Art Weekend (UAW) returns July 17 to 21, with an exciting lineup of exhibitions and events celebrating the cultural vibrancy of the region. Spanning eight counties and over 130 venues, UAW invites residents and visitors alike to explore the Hudson Valley’s thriving creative communities.

Here’s a preview of four must-see exhibitions in the area:

Keep ReadingShow less