Bello Machre is a recipient of a $10,000 check donated from the proceeds of the Annapolis Irish Festival. Eddie and Tracy McGowan, the festival’s founders, along with Pamela Cole Finlay, the event’s organizer, presented the donation as part of the Irish Festival’s tradition of giving back to the community.
Dr. Robert Ireland, President and CEO, commented, “We are so proud to be selected as a recipient for the 2nd year. Eddie and Tracy McGowan have created an extraordinary event that brings people together and celebrates our community.” Additionally, Bello Machre supports this terrific event by providing an army of volunteers who greeted festival goers and helped sell tickets.
The Inaugural Annapolis Irish Festival was started in 2011 by Eddie and Tracy McGowan. This Festival has become an Annapolis tradition and a regional attraction thanks to the support of the business community and the people who share McGowan’s passion for the Emerald Isle and the magical Celtic traditions and music that they hold so dear. In 2015, fifteen businesses sponsored this Festival, and $30,000 was donated to local non-profits in our community. The 2016 Annapolis Irish Festival was held at the Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds and featured 3 stages of non-stop entertainment. The major sponsors included: Absolute Fire Protection, Budweiser, Galway Bay, Greene Turtle, Homestead Gardens, and the O’Callaghan Annapolis Hotel. The Festival hosted over 70 vendors, the famous Little Leprechaun Land, and proceeds benefited Bello Machre as well as several other local non-profits in our community. In just 6 years the Festival organizers have exceeded their goal of giving back over $100,000 dollars to local non profits!
“What a great day to be Irish!” commented Eddie McGowan. “I’m so thrilled to be associated with Bello Machre and their tremendous work providing a lifetime of care to people with developmental disabilities. It was only natural that we selected them as one of our host charities.”
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