Merlins Rest Pub

Don’t forget, good friends, that the Irish Fair returns to the Twin Cities this weekend: August 8 - 10, Harriet Island. It’s a grand event loaded with fantastic food, dance, dogs, beer and culture.

We hope you all will give a little of your weekend time to visiting the fair and celebrating the Irish community that has so greatly enriched Minnesota.

And be sure to visit the Crossroas Tent and take Irish ceili or set-dancing class! Or even join in the big dance with live, traditional Irish music. They’ll even have buttons for you, our friend Paul reports. (Look for the Merlins mark on the back of the buttons!)

You’ll have a blast, we swear. For more information on the dancing, please visit the group’s home page.

And after you visit the fair, we invite you all up to Merlins Rest. Tell us your tales and raise a pint! 

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT…

The latest issue of The Irish Gazette has plenty of info on the Irish Fair and not just Minnesota’s Irish but Wisconsin’s Irish resources (including, for example, IrishFest La Crosse, which also takes place 8-10 August 2008). Get your copy of the Gazette here at the pub.

AND DON’T FORGET…

Fiona, aka the Whisky Wench, invites all to our next Single-Malt Scotch Tasting on Thursday, August 7 at 7:30 pm. The details:

* $25 flat fee to participate
* 4 - 5 grand pours from our extensive stock

It’s great fun and really really great scotch. Cheers to the Wench! She’s an absolute gem. Bring your friends or tell your enemies.

Tonight: The Open Mic with Harrison Matthews
Time: 8:00 pm

First off, let me apologize for the lack of an entry yesterday. I blame a visitor, because that’s easier than personal accountability! Now for the whisky news and a summary of tonight’s activities:

NEXT SINGLE-MALT TASTING
August 7 (Thursday), 7:30 pm

Fiona, aka the Whisky Wench, invites all to our next Single-Malt Scotch Tasting on Thursday, August 7 at 7:30 pm. The details:

* $25 flat fee to participate
* 4 - 5 grand pours from our extensive stock

It’s great fun and really really great scotch. Cheers to the Wench! She’s an absolute gem. Bring your friends or tell your enemies.

OPEN MIC NIGHT

Per usual, we’ll kick start the new week’s events with the Merlins Rest Open Mic featuring our host Harrison Matthews. He’s a great man, that Harrison, and we have so many fine singers and poets and such in the pub. The Open Mic is a fantastic way to share some creativity and get the week moving in the right direction.

Sing it, say it, share it, friends. Lend your talent or an ear. Hey: it’s your mic! We appreciate you.

That fun begins about 8:00 pm.

Tonight: The Hot Club of East Lake with Papa John Kolstad
Time: 9:00 pm

Merlin’s beard! I’m laying down on the job, aren’t I? I should have posted this entry hours ago! But it’s the summer, and in summer one is a bit more relaxed.

(Thanks, by the way, to John Dingley, Bill Watkins and the Merlins staff for the good laughs and good times last night. We had a lovely time at our dinner!)

Tonight we’ve got the unbeatable Papa John Kolstad and the Hot Club of East Lake. They start at 9:00 pm. Fantastic music from these kings of the Minneapolis music scene. Give ‘em a listen and you’ll know why. So get out and enjoy your Saturday night!

Cheers, friends.

Tonight: Live Irish Music
Time: After 8:00 pm

Join us for the weekly Kilt Night and Live Irish Music. Music starts around 8:30 or 9:00 pm.

Our live music is done just as it is back in the Isles: local session musicians set up at the front of the pub–gathered simply around a couple tables–and play without microphones and amps. They play as music is best played: unscripted and with musicians working off of one another. It’s an absolute joy.

Great craic and perfect for yer pint. So tell a tale, share a laugh, and get the weekend rollicking. Cheers!

Tonight: Dino & the Dinosaurs
Time: 9:00 pm

Thirty-one days in this month has delivered an extra Thursday. And when that happens, we bring back our friends Dino & the Dinosaurs. They bring the blues–but the sort you want.

Fine music for a weekend warm-up, friends. Cheers!

TOMORROW NIGHT

Don’t forget: we’ve got Kilt Night and live Irish music tomorrow night! It’s hard to beat those happenings. And you never know who you might see. The Irish Gazette’s “Mr. Peterson,” for example…wrap-around shades, dog, cane and all.