iFest, a three-day festival of Irish food and drink, music and culture, is set to take place in Boston from 26-28 September.
The festival was created by Irish entrepreneur Rachel Kelly who, according to a report in The Irish Times, is hoping that between 30,000 and 40,000 people will attend the event. She has invested around €2.3 million in bringing the event to fruition.
Sponsors of the event include Tourism Ireland, Guinness, Jameson, Shannon Airport, Aer Lingus and Bord Bia.
The event will showcase Irish food and drinks brands and will include a Guinness bar, Kerrygold Bakery and a number of displays by whiskey brands, such as Jameson and the Dingle Distillery. There will also be cookery demonstrations by top Irish chefs including Kevin Dundon and Darina Allen.
Moya Doherty, one of the producers of Riverdance, has produced a show for iFest and other entertainment will be provided by some big name Irish musical acts such as Jack L and The Riptide Movement. There will also be cultural and literary sections including genealogy workshops and screenings about Ireland.
In addition, there are plans to show the All-Ireland hurling final replay between Kilkenny and Tipperary, which takes place on the Saturday. The GAA is also one of the sponsors the event and there will be other GAA themed entertainment provided.
The organisers hope that this will be an annual event. Speaking to the paper Kelly said that, "We're looking at New York in 2015…basically I want to roll it out in cities where there's a strong Irish diaspora."
