Irish Arts Center Open Day

St. Patrick’s Day is coming soon and the libations will surely be flowing around town this weekend, but there is more to Irish culture than that, you know. On Sunday afternoon the Irish Arts Center in Clinton presents its annual Open Day, a free sampler of Irish culture.

“Many people, when they think of St. Patrick’s Day, think of the parade and green beer, but this is a chance for people interested in the culture to see what traditional Irish arts are all about,” said Rachael Gilkey, education coordinator for the center.

The center will be abuzz with Irish music and dance performances, film screenings and educational opportunities for people of all ages and ethnicities. Ever think about learning to play the tin whistle? They’ve got a workshop for that. Kids will be able to learn about St. Patrick and can even take an Irish language class. (An adult class is also on the agenda.) The center regularly offers courses in Irish language, music, history and more, and students from some of those classes will perform on Sunday, showing a bit of what they’ve learned.

“It really is a day that allows us to showcase everything, and it’s free,” said Aidan Connolly, the executive director.

Mr. Connolly is expecting a big turnout, “probably in the neighborhood of four to five hundred over the course of the day,” he said. He also expects the participants to be a culturally diverse lot, just like the students and teachers at the center.

“There’s something interesting about what ethnically based cultural institutions can do in New York,” he said. “We’re able to tap into a combination of ethnic diversity and cultural voraciousness and create a different kind of cultural experience.”

(Sunday, noon to 5 p.m., Irish Arts Center, 553 West 51st Street, Clinton, (212 ) 757-3318, irishartscenter.org; free.)