SligoFest returns for 16th year, celebrates Irish traditions

Starting Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., SligoFest will be in its 16th year. Entertainment will be from John Ross, of Memphis, and Ross Reed, who plays the trombone. They are known as Ross and Ross and play a variety of music, anything from jazz to country and rock. Kathy Summers will be there also, and will start playing at noon. These two groups will alternate every hour until the event is over.

There will also be an all-you-can-eat menu, according to Vivian Fritzinger, one of the organizers and cooks for the event. Everyone has been telling her how wonderful the Reuben sandwiches are, and she can’t believe why they attract so many people.

“They are just plain ol’ sandwiches, nothing compared to Arby’s, but people really seem to enjoy them enough that I always get compliments on them,” said Fritzinger. “All I can say is, come out and eat!”

The all-you-can-eat menu is $9 for adults, $4 for children ages 5-12, and free for children under five years old.

SligoFest this year is anticipating over 300 people at the traditional event, and about 200 pounds of corned beef will be prepared over a two-day period. All the corned beef will be prepared at the schoolhouse, which was the reason for starting the event in the first place.

In 2001, the schoolhouse in Sligo was in desperate need of repairs. Fritzinger said that if they had to flip a breaker, it was so high up on the wall they had to use a stick to get to it. After three years of the SligoFest, the community had raised enough money to get things repaired at the school. Since then, they have remodeled the school, the church in Sligo, built a shed for storage, and are now raising money to help keep up with maintenance in the school and church.

There will be about 10 booths at the event touting unique treasures for people to purchase, including jewelry, woodworking, rugs, honey, silverwork and pickled quail eggs.

For more information, contact Vivian Fritzinger at (573) 743-6316.