FAQs

The Michigan Irish Music Festival is located at beautiful Heritage Landing, downtown Muskegon along Muskegon Lake. The address is 1051 7th Street, Muskegon, MI 49440.

Everything you need to know about ticket prices, you will find here on our website: “Get Tickets“. Tickets can also be purchased right at the gate with your credit card or cash. The box office will open 30 minutes prior to opening on each day of the Festival. No refunds on ticket sales. Ticket sales kick-off on St Patrick’s Day prior to the festival, prices escalating the closer you get to the event. Kids 12 and under are ALWAYS free! We highly suggest the Festival Pass if you intend to come more than one day. Thursday night is NOT the entire festival- it is a Pub Preview Party (see “At the Fest” below for more info on Thursday night).

YES! FREE Entry is on Sunday from 10:30 am – Noon. Also, volunteers receive free admission to the festival on the day they volunteer. Please join our volunteer crew of 1500+ community members! Click here to volunteer.

Sometimes the weather is like the Sahara Desert. Sometimes, it’s authentic Irish weather of rain and cold. Either way, we recommend layers. The temp drops as soon as the sun goes down which will be either refreshing or cold. No matter what, wear your Irish Pride! We have you covered with over 2 acres of tents. Even if it’s raining, put on your wellies and join us!

• Coolers with food and beverage- Not allowed unless you have severe food allergies, babies, or strict dietary restrictions.
• Dogs- We love pets, but please leave your fur babies at home. Service animals trained to perform tasks related to the handler’s disability may be admitted with their handler.
• Chairs – We have plenty of them – and they’re surprisingly comfortable!  However, feel free to bring in your favorite chair if you’d like.
• Weapons – No.
• Non-Perishables to donate.
• Empty water bottles for the free fill stations
• All carry-in items (bags, purses, backpacks) are subject to search.
• The festival is not responsible for articles lost, stolen, or misplaced.

The festival grounds contain lovely cemented paths but they do not lead to every tent. These cemented paths do occasionally have an electrical cord covering (like a speed bump) for patron safety. Going “off road” is difficult in a typical wheelchair or scooter so we recommend you bring a friend to help. Motor chairs, strollers, small wagons work great on any of the terrain unless there is lots of rain. Accessible seating is available at Cork and Kerry stages. Ask a volunteer for directions!

Accessible and family bathrooms are located west of the G&L County Cork stage, on your way to County Kerry. These are not gender specific and are safe for anyone to use. Other bathrooms are tented by gender to maximize the customer service experience for moms who need some privacy (breast pumping rocking chair). We are also proud to say that baby changing stations are located in both gendered bathrooms so dads can help, too.

The best parking space for handicap stickered vehicles is our paid festival lot located at 560 Mart Street, Muskegon, MI 49440. When you pay $10 to park with us, you’re giving to two great charities: Muskegon Winter Sports Complex & USS LST 393 Veterans Museum. Free Courtesy Cart shuttles (golf carts) are available to all patrons coming from our lots but cannot accommodate motorized carts. Patrons must be able to get on and off the Courtesy Cart Shuttles unassisted. The Courtesy Carts will take you all the way to the Main Gate.

First thing is first- don’t sleep on securing a place to stay the night. Hotels, campgrounds, and vacation homes will sell out. MIMF highly recommends that the Delta Marriott and Shoreline Inn & Suites be the top of your list; they are both located in beautiful Downtown Muskegon which is full of restaurants, shopping, and leisure.

Camp Grounds do sell out in advance as well. We recommend Fisherman’s Landing (owned and operated by the City of Muskegon and located downtown). Pioneer Park (owned by the County of Muskegon) is located in North Muskegon, flanked by two state parks, Muskegon State Park and Duck Lake State Park. In our neighboring community of Norton Shores, Hoffmaster State Park is another fantastic option.

Still need help locating a place to spend the weekend? Check out Visitmuskegon.org for more options.

Thursday | 5:00 \- 10:00 pm | Pub Preview Party | ONLY the Pub will be open.

Friday | 5:00 \- 11:00 pm | Full festival kicks off Friday!

Saturday | 11:00 am \- 11:00 pm

Sunday 10:30 am \- 5:00 pm | Free Entry 10:30 am \- Noon | Catholic Mass is at 11am

Why wait for the weekend? Pre-game the Michigan Irish Music Festival on Thursday night at our Pub Preview Party! Enjoy one stage with four amazing bands for just $10! Also tasty food from two vendors, the chance to grab exclusive artist merchandise and the official festival t-shirt all available at the Pub Preview Party! AND- park on our lot FREE Thursday.

It’s the perfect way to start the festival fun before the full experience kicks off on Friday at 5pm with all six stages, market vendors, food vendors, cultural activities, Wee Ones’ events, and more!

Reminder: The Thursday Pub Preview Party is ONLY the Pub Stage. No market vendors or other activities are available until Friday.

The Shuttle will pick up at the Shoreline Inn, the Delta Marriott, and the Mart Dock, dropping patrons at the festival. Stops will also be made at Indigrow on Clay Avenue and the Baker College parking lot on Clay and Jefferson. The Shuttle runs on a continuous loop so patrons should not experience more than a 15 minute wait at any location. Here is a link to the Shuttle Bus Map.

When entering Heritage Landing, you are entering a venue where still images, sound and moving images will be captured by MIMF volunteers. By entering the Michigan Irish Music Festival, you consent to having your image, video or audio captured, stored, edited and used to create derivative works by event volunteers. The resulting materials and any derivatives of these materials may be used now and in the future by the Michigan Irish Music Festival without financial compensation on the web, in social media, in traditional media, in print and transmitted via airwaves. The use of the material may include but not be limited to security, promotion and other purposes. All guests, volunteers, vendors, ticket holders and others on site waive their rights and license to any of this imagery. People not willing to submit to this release, should not enter the festival grounds.

The festival has easy to use Blarney Bucks tickets for food and beverage purchases. There are 3 locations to purchase Blarney Bucks. During peak times Blarney Bucks roving sellers are also on the grounds in the crowd. Blarney Bucks are in $1 increments; buy $1 at a time. All food and drink items are in $1 increments. You may purchase using cash or credit card.

Blarney Bucks are not refundable and are only good for the current festival. You can use them to tip our volunteers who will donate your unused tickets to our selected food pantry.

Festival and Artist Merchandise accept both credit cards and cash. The vendors in the Irish Market and Irish Store are specific to the vendor.

If needed, we do have an ATM on site at each gate.

We are thrilled that your friends are coming to the show, but please don’t save chairs. We have plenty of chairs to go around and people like to get their spot in front of the stage. So until your entire group is with you, other patrons may take the seat next to you.

We recycle all of the plastic drink cups, aluminum cans, and cardboard from all of the vendors. Check near the garbage cans, there should be a recycle container right nearby.

Food Vendors sell soda, water, and lemonade.

Tea and Coffee can be found on the County Kerry side of the festival grounds in the Tea Room and Grafton Street.

MIMF features four main beverage locations: Grafton Street, County Cork, County Kerry, and Bob and Bernie’s Pub. TONS of local and domestic beers, ciders, wine, seltzers, Irish Cream, high end Irish Whiskey and Craft Cocktails.

Want to give into some guided instruction? Be sure to check out information on our Hedge School! You can join tastings with limited availability. Tickets for tastings can be purchased online at Tasting Tickets. These will sell out, so buy in advance. Festival admission tickets are also required. These classes are for 21 years and older.

Yes, there is a wide variety of authentic Irish food and festival food available! Check our website or Festival APP for a list of food vendors. You will find traditional Irish Fare in the Celtic Kitchen (bangers and mash, fish and chips, corned beef sandwiches, potato soup) as well as many other foods from sandwiches, burgers, elephant ears, chilli dogs, sweet treats, toasted raviolis and MORE. All food vendors are in charge of their menu and pricing; MIMF does not have any say in food prices but we try to offer a variety of offerings and pricing.

Are there Gluten-free or vegetarian/vegan options available?

If you might have a severe allergic reaction to a certain food item, please do not take a chance. You are welcome to bring your own cooler with a limited amount of food for yourself. Documentation is not required at the gate, but it’s always helpful. Either way, it’s a trust based system. We trust you to manage your health and bring food for only yourself.

Yes, the Wee Ones’ area is open the following hours.

• Friday | 5:00 – 7:00 pm
• Saturday | 12:00 – 6:30 pm
• Sunday | 12:00 – 4:00 pm

Located in County Kerry you will find free crafts, storytelling, storytime from the Hackley Library, face painting and more. Check the schedule for a full list of scheduled events. Bring your little ones to march in the Wee One’s Parade on Saturday at 2 pm. Meet near the Wee Ones tent in County Kerry to start.

Yes, Catholic Mass will be Sunday morning at 11 am. Admission is free between 10:30 am and noon on Sunday, so stay all day for free!

Yes! Watch championship Irish dancers perform or join in the Saturday Ceili to learn social dancing yourself. Off site, we host the Michigan Feis, an Irish dance competition. Don’t miss seeing the winners (known as The Parade of Champions) on Saturday evening at the Grafton Street stage.

Help us collect these targeted items for Mission for Area People, the healthy food pantry serving the urban core of Muskegon Heights. You can bring any non-perishable food items, but their most needed items are Hamburger Helper, toilet paper, canned fruit, pasta and pasta sauce.. Drop these items off at either Welcome Center upon entry.

Visit our FEIS page for more information! Dancers from all over the great lakes region will compete in hard and soft shoe. The public is invited to attend and watch this event on Saturday morning at the VanDyke Mortgage Conference Center at 460 W. Western Avenue in downtown Muskegon. Hint: Take the shuttle from the grounds to the Delta Marriott which is adjacent to the Convention Center. You can also see the Parade of Champions on the Grafton Street stage Saturday afternoon. Look for times on the APP or program.

Send a media kit to Michigan Irish Music Festival/Entertainment Committee, 2743 Henry Street \#231, Muskegon, MI 49441. Electronic kits can be emailed to [email protected]

Request for donations | Donations

Please submit a formal request on the benefitting organization’s letterhead along with event collateral. Direct to the President and email to [email protected]

Lost Items | Lost and Found, Welcome Center

Think you lost something? Visit our Welcome Center for Lost or Found Items. You may also inbox us on socials or email us at [email protected]

Food Vendor Interest | Food Vendors, Bookings, Vendors

Please submit a request in writing to [email protected] and a member of our team will get back to you.

Market Vendor Interest | Merchandise Sales, Vending Products

Please submit a request in writing to [email protected] and a member of our team will get back to you.

MIMF is a 100% volunteer-produced festival relying on over 1,600 volunteers every year. We would love your help! For more information or to signup, visit our VOLUNTEER page. Complete a profile and tell us when and what you would like to do at the festival. The closer we get to the festival the more likely jobs will be filled and we will assign you where the need is the greatest.

MIMF is always looking for new sponsors. If you would like more information, email [email protected]