5 things to do in McHenry County: ShamROCKS the Fox, other Irish fun

1. ShamROCKS the Fox: Live music, dying the Fox River green and family fun will mark three days for this year’s ShamROCKS the Fox in McHenry.

The festivities kick off Friday, St. Patrick’s Day, with live music – The Feelgood Leprechauns, Vinyl Goldmine and 7th Heaven – from 5 to 11 p.m., at Miller Point, 1202 Riverside Drive.

Saturday starts with the Kiwanis Shamrock Shuffle at 8 a.m. at the McHenry High School Freshman Campus, 1012 N. Green St., followed by the river being dyed green at 10 a.m. The parade starts at noon.

[ ShamROCKS the Fox expands to three days of revelry for all things Irish ]

The festival grounds at Miller Point opens at 11 a.m. and goes to 11 p.m. In addition to live music and a beer tent, there is a bouncy house for children and free face painting.

McHenry will allow open alcohol containers Saturday and Sunday, so visitors can check out the downtown’s stores and restaurants during the day. A free trolley will pick up people at parking lots and take them to locations downtown.

On Sunday, the festival starts at noon at ends at 7 p.m. with fireworks.

For information, go to naturallymchenrycounty.com/shamrocks-the-fox.

2. St. Patrick Celebration in downtown Richmond: Live music by Cirrus Falcon, bagpipes by Shawn McDonald, a performance by the McNulty Irish Dancers and Colleen Gallagher’s award-winning Irish soda bread will fill the St. Patrick’s celebration Friday in downtown Richmond.

The event, which runs 4 to 9 p.m. at The District at Memorial Hall, 10308 N. Main St., also includes a local vendor market, kids crafts, open-air photo booth, gift basket drawings, a roaming leprechaun, cash bar and food.

Attendees must be 21 to enter. Admission is free.

For information, go to bit.ly/StPatRichmond.

3. Van Morrison Tribute: An Irish Heartbeat: Soundtracks of a Generation presents a 10-piece band featuring singer and harpist Derrick Procell exploring Van Morrison’s 55-year musical career at 8 p.m. Friday at the Raue Center for the Arts, 26 N. Williams St. in Crystal Lake.

Tickets start at $30 and $21 for RaueNOW members plus fees.

Procell’s music has been performed on TV shows “My Name is Earl,” “TrueBlood,” “Criminal Minds,” “Boston Legal,” “Saving Grace,” “The Office” and “King of the Hill,” as well as in the film “Lady Bird.”

For information, go to rauecenter.org.

4. “Seussical The Musical”: This weekend is the last chance to catch Theatre 121′s rendition of “Seussical the Musical,” a family show based on the books of Dr. Seuss, including “Horton Hatches the Egg,” “Miss Gertrude McFuzz” and “Horton Hears a Who!”

Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Woodstock Opera House, 121 Van Buren St.

[ Review: Theatre 121 of Woodstock makes ‘Seussical’ pure fun for families ]

Tickets cost $26 for adults in section A, $20 in section B and $26 for students and those 65 and older in section A and $18 in section B.

For information, go to woodstockoperahouse.com/operahouse/page/theatre-121s-seussical.

5. Read and Eat with a Firefighter: Children will get to meet a Huntley firefighter for story time at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Culver’s of Huntley, 12950 S. Route 47.

As part of the Huntley Public Library, Huntley Fire Protection District and Culver’s collaboration, families will learn about CPR, color, meet Culver’s mascot Scoopie for a photo opportunity, eat free french fries and, weather permitting, explore a firetruck or other fire protection vehicle.

Story times are geared toward younger children.

For information, go to huntley.libnet.info/event/8120397.

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