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www.celtic-connection.com
OCTOBER 1999
Parade of the Lost Souls
VANCOUVER — The Public Dreams Society and Britannia Community Service Centre present the eighth annual Parade of Lost Souls on October 30 at Grandview Park. This is a performance parade and procession through the streets and alleys of the Grandview neighbourhood. Public lantern and prop making workshops will be offered in the cafeteria of Britannia Secondary School on October 22, October 23, October 27 and October 28. Volunteers, performers and artists are welcome. For more information, call (604) 8790-8611.
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The Mahones to Play Vancouver
VANCOUVER — The Mahones, one of Canada's premiere Celtic bands are scheduled to perform live at the Marine Club at 573 Homer Street on November 11 and 12. Tickets are available through TicketMaster. For more information, (604) 733-7864 or (604) 683-1720.
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Sacred Music Festival
The first Sacred Music Festival will be held at the Roundhouse Community Centre on the weekend of November 12 to 14. Sacred music celebrates the spiritual nature of humanity. This festival embraces all of the sacred traditions and will feature music from many distinct communities that create the mosaic of Canadian culture. Tickets are available at Banyen Books & Sound, Virgin Megastore and Hiehlife Records, or call (604) 732-6632
Seeking Irish Nanny
From the Emerald Isle to Shaughnessy (Vancouver) seeking Irish nanny to care for two boys three and a half years and one year old. Must be mature, have a driver's license and create order. Long term position with live-in negotiable. Phone after 6 PM to (604) 739-4594.
Aran Foods Inc.
For Irish Soda Breads and...
bagels, baguettes, french bread, white potato bread, cinammon buns, croissants or danishes as well as brown potato bread, brownies, multigrain breads, sourdough breads, cakes, cookies and petits fours to name a few.
foods ioc,
1320 Nanaimo St. (at Charles) Vancouver, B.C. V5L 4T6 258-2726 (ARAN) Outside Vancouver, call toll-free 1-888-551-ARAN
Tues - Thurs: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Fri & Sat: 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sun: noon - 5 p.m. Closed Mondays
www.AranFoods.com
— Complete Mechanical Contracting
Vancouver Branch Calgary Branch
190-4611 No. 6 Road Richmond B.C. V6V2L3
Tel: (604) 278-3553 Fax:(604)278-3573
2-2355 Pegasus Way N.E. Calgary, Alberta T2E 8C3
Tel: (403) 735-3267 Fax:(403)735-6227
website: vvww.WKellyanciSons.com
Authentic Irish Hospitality In a Delightful Setting
CATHOLINE BUTLER
ANCOUVER — Declan and Mary Hannigan, two expatriates from Dublin, recently opened the doors of their new establishment, the River Rest Restaurant in Fort Langley.
On September 18, they presented an evening of excellent food and entertainment featuring The Crofters, a very popular local group.
I attended, along with a group from The Celtic Connection and we had a fabulous evening. It was my first visit to Fort Langley and it won't be my last. The town has a very charming, historic, quaint village atmosphere with several little shops, restaurants and scenery that just beg to be explored and enjoyed.
It was a beautiful evening and we sat outside on the patio overlooking the river. Large flaming torches provided light and kept the insects away. As everyone's quench subsided with Irish refreshments, we scrolled through the extensive menu and pondered our selections.
Two in the party had prime rib with delicious brown gravy, lightly browned Irish potato cakes with mixed vegetables as a side dish.
Two others had pan fried trout stuffed with shrimp and Irish potato cakes with a side order of vegetables. Another two with lighter appetites had soup and salad. Afterwards, we all shared delicious bread pudding.
Then, it was time to move in to the restaurant to enjoy the music of The Crofters as they played a mixture of Irish, Scottish, rock n' roll and country music.
This group has been together for a number of years and they know their material and their audiences. They keep up a great rapport and in no time at all, everyone was clapping along and up on the dance floor.
When the pace slowed down a bit, I spoke to our hosts Declan and Mary, whose two sons Darragh and Ciaran aged 11 and 15 were helping out bussing and working in the kitchen. Declan has the quick "Dub" wit, along with a love for the craic, while his wife Mary is more reserved, preferring behind the scenes work.
Declan began working in the Irish hospitality industry in 1976 and trained for four years before working in a small hotel in Clare Street in Dublin where he met Mary.
He said, "We were always fighting, so one night I thought this must stop. I said let's go and have a drink and talk about this and we ended up getting married....that was the most expensive drink of my life."
I asked if they had stopped fighting? And Declan said, "Oh God no, but we have less time now with so much work to do."
The family arrived in Canada six years ago and worked in the hos-
FORMER DUBLINERS Declan and Mary Hannigan now run the River Rest in Fort Langley. The are flanked by their two sons Darragh and Cairan. Their friendly staff are (L-R) (back row) Melissa Stefanyk, Elyse Cardna, Kely Vermeillen, Justine Fane, Charlene Smashnuk, Pat Keller and Louise Maher
THE CROFTERS, a very popular local group provided great dance music and entertainment to complete a great evening.
———He mixed that with the ground
beef meat which gave the hamburger some zip. Now it's on their menu and people love it. He also confesses that his sauces and marinades have a fairly liberal helping of Irish Whiskey and Guinness.
Declan talked about the long range plans for the River Rest saying, "our predecessors did not use the function room and it's our intention to put that room to use. We're going to have a lot more entertainment eventually, such as jazz nights, blues nights.
"We want to focus on the Irish, because we are Irish. Our eventual plans are for the whole place to go Irish. Having said that we are advertising Irish hospitality, we don't have shamrocks on the walls, we have the real Irish and the people that your see here are genuine, the real McCoy not the plastic version."
The River Rest is an ideal spot to entertain, plan a birthday party, anniversary, wedding or office party. Rooms can be sized to the number of guests, menus are written by Declan especially for your event with Irish hospitality guaranteed.
The River Rest Restaurant in located in Fort Langley just under the tower by the river at 9277 Glover Road. For more information, call (604) 888-6669.
"We want to
focus on the Irish, because
we are Irish.
Our eventual plans are for the whole place to
go Irish...."
pitality business at various locations until they got a feel for the Canadian market. Declan writes the menus at the River Rest which are designed to give people a good choice.
He has written several recipes on the spur of the moment, such as his Boston chicken recipe with the special marinade which has become one of his best sellers.
Another time, five of his kids' friends were over and there wasn't enough meat to make hamburgers, so rather than go out for more ground beef, he looked through his fridge and found a pound of Italian sausage.