The New York City Irish Dance Festival and international humanitarian organization GOAL USA are staging what they call "a truly unique event" that will see Irish step dancers along with hundreds of walkers and runners of all ages taking on a one-mile course to raise money and awareness.
The NYC Irish Dance Festival /GOAL Mile Challenge is set for Sunday, May 4 at
Pier I, West 70th St. (enter at 68th St.) in Manhattan.
Registration is at 11 a.m. The event will kick off with a "GOAL Mile," part of the organization’s signature annual fundraising campaign.
Participants, said a release, will be welcome to walk, run, and especially dance the mile-long route, roughly six lengths of the pier, which reaches some 800 feet into the Hudson River, with sweeping views of New Jersey and the Manhattan skyline.
Spearheading the effort is the Niall O’Leary School of Irish Dance under the direction of Niall O’Leary, the festival’s founder.
He said: “We are proud and excited to bring the great energy and passion of the New York Irish Dance Festival to the GOAL cause this year. The support is urgently needed and we’re excited to see hundreds of people taking the challenge on the day, with dancers leading the way.”
GOAL USA is the U.S. affiliate of GOAL, founded in Ireland in 1977, and currently working in some of the most vulnerable communities in 17 countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, responding to disasters and building resilience through programs in health, clean water and sanitation, livelihoods, and economic empowerment.
The GOAL Mile – first held in 1981 – is the organization’s annual global fundraising campaign, in which grassroots community groups organize one-mile walk and run events in support of GOAL’s work. Last year there were more than 100 GOAL Miles organized across Ireland, the U.S. and beyond, generating more than $750,000.
The New York Irish Dance Festival, now in its 24th year, is an annual celebration of Irish dance that features traditional and contemporary Irish dance from notable professional and student talent from around the region.
From 12 noon to 6 p.m. audiences can immerse themselves in Irish arts and culture with participatory workshops, music sessions, Irish language conversations, and social dancing for all ages, among many other offerings. The evening ends with a lively céilí for all, with live music.
At 12:30 p.m. the pier will be dedicated to the dancing, walking, and running of the GOAL Mile.
According to the release, the festival is free-of-charge, but the Mile includes a registration fee of $25, which entitles each participant to a t-shirt and the knowledge that they are supporting GOAL’s life-saving efforts in places like Ethiopia, Sudan, Haiti, and Honduras. Participants can also raise funds from their friends and family, or even create their own team.
“We couldn’t be more grateful to Niall O’Leary and the New York Irish Dance Festival for organizing this truly unique and first-of-its kind GOAL Mile,” said GOAL USA Executive Director Eamon Sharkey.
“We can’t do the work we do without this type of grassroots support and we’re honored to launch our partnership at this year’s festival.”
