Tulsa, Okla. — Tulsa Irish Fest is back and according to organizers, this year, they did something that’s never been done before.
As part of the Festival, they organized an Oklahoma-Ireland Business Conference where they discussed economic development and activity between the state of Oklahoma and Ireland.
“Music, food, animals, rugby, vendors. I got this FunkyBrims from a local vendor who imports hats from Ireland. We have it all here,” said Don Burdick the President of Tulsa Irish Fest.
Tulsa Irish Fest returns for its fifth year, but this year, the event isn’t just fun and games. The organizers say they also mean business.
“It’s all about creating a business and economic development component to a fun festival event,” said Burdick.
Burdick says as part of the event this year, they hosted the first-ever Oklahoma-Ireland Business Conference to discuss economic development and activity between the state of Oklahoma and Ireland.
“It is the first ever business conference to actually promote international trade and activity between the state and the country. So we had our Lieutenant Governor, our State Insurance Commissioner, people from the Senate Economic Development Committee, the author of House Bill 3305, Forrest Claunch, that created the Oklahoma-Ireland Trade Commission. It just came into effect November 1st,” said Burdick.
As for Tulsa Irish Fest itself, Burdick says he’s seen growth since they first organized this event in 2018.
“Last year, 7,000 people bought a ticket,” said Burdick. “This year, as we stand right here, 18,200 say they’re coming to the festival.”
He says the event brings people from all over.
“Last year, we had people fly in from Oregon, Washington State, and New York City. This year, I know lots of people drove up from Oklahoma City. Others are flying in, again, with our international bands, which have international followings,” said Burdick.
With a rise in measles cases worldwide and the United States, we asked the Tulsa Health Department if they have any concerns with people traveling to Tulsa this weekend.
“The Tulsa Irish Festival looks like a great opportunity to connect with other people and right now, that risk is low because of that vaccination status,” said Ashley Bailey, an Epidemiologist, with Tulsa Health Department
Bailey says the risk of measles infections is low, because of high vaccination rates in Oklahoma.
Still, Bailey reminds people to practice hand hygiene for general illnesses, especially in large gatherings.
And she reminds people to make sure they’re up-to-date on their vaccines.
“This is a great opportunity when we see the headlines or on social media, not just for measles, but every other illness out there, to check your status. Make sure that you’re up to date on everything,” said Bailey.