A group that I belong to has a monthly gathering. I had offered to host the March gathering. Being a theme kind of girl, I decide to go with the St. Patrick’s Day theme.
Now that may make you think of green beer and guacamole, but this was a sophisticated crowd. Instead, each co host made 2 or 3 or 5 items to share with the crowd of 60.
To set the tone, we had a bagpiper playing at the front of the venue for the event, which was the beautiful Sulphur Springs City Hall. Did you know that bagpipes are not only Scottish, but Irish, Middle Eastern, English, Roman, etc.? It is the Scottish Highland Bagpipes that are so well known, but they don’t have a corner on the market.
The building now housing City Hall started as a U.S. Post Office which was completed in 1914. After a new post office was erected in the 1960s, the City purchased the building and converted it to the Public Library. In 2000, the City built a brand new Library and decommissioned the building until 2014, when it was fully renovated to become City Hall.
Guests entered the stately building through double doors directly beneath the original gold-leafed lantern. The doors lead into a vestibule featuring an ornately detailed and painted ceiling, a replica of the original.
From there, guests went through to the council chambers where the room had been set to accommodate the 60 guests at 6 long tables. The dais at which the council sits was converted to a 13 foot long buffet table laden with homemade treats of all kinds, many Irish in origin. Some of the delicacies included mini Irish hand pies, Irish cheddar potato bites, Guinness cheese spread, Irish Bundt cake, Irish shortbread bites, Irish cream cookies, Irish scones, and Irish potato candies. Other treats included banana pudding, green pinwheels, nuts, pate, shrimp, etc.
After a brief history for the crowd, guided tours were offered through the rest of the building. What a fun day celebrating Ireland, wonderful downtown Sulphur Springs, good food and great friends.
As my hometown newspaper used to say, “And a good time was had by all.”
Bonus: Have you ever seen a shamrock plant (Oxalis Regnellii)? This one is half asleep, but still pretty.