Takin' the Blog for a Walk
Join Waukesha resident Brien Lee and his blog, Sir Fido, as they explore the city and report on the interesting things they find.
Email Brien at howlinblog@yahoo.com.
peace and percussion
Once again the entertainment was spectacular at the Irish Cultural Heritage Center's Milwaukee Irish Parade Afterparty. For one thin dollar I was treated to some of the best Irish entertainment this side of the Mississippi. Have yet to see the parade though, billed as the largest parade of any kind in the state and the first Irish parade to be held outside the original 13 colonies. The parade was started in 1843, before even Milwaukee was a city and Wisconsin a state.
I planned my trip around the headliner band, Different Drums of Ireland. Their goal is to do more than just make loud rhythmic sounds by beating on objects. Their focus seems as much about making the audience happy as it is bringing about peace through their playing. 
This small group of musicians based in Northern Ireland combine two instruments symbolizing opposite sides of a political divide to the effect that they can join together in harmony. The huge drum, the lambeg, is symbolic of Northern Ireland's Protestant faction and the much smaller and lighter bodhran drum is symbolic of the Catholic cause. While traveling the world bringing the two symbols together in peace, they hope to bring the two hostile sides together in peace also.
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