You’ve heard it said that on St. Patrick’s Day, everyone is Irish or wishes they were Irish.
A prime example was in downtown Timmins on Saturday at the St. Patrick’s Day urban farmers market.
It was decked out in shamrocks and other green decorations, but there wasn’t a whole lot else that was Irish about the event.
It was at a business called Seymour’s Pantry. It featured, among other products, goods made from South American alpaca fleece, cheese from LaSarre, Quebec, and then the fiddler.
“Alexandre Bujold.”
Bob McIntyre: “That’s not a very Irish name.”
Bujold: “No, I’m a French Canadian playing some Irish tunes.”
The whole thing was being supervised by a Downtown Timmins executive director whose name is Noella Rinaldo, pushing the “everyone wants to be Irish” theme.
“This is what we’re celebrating,” Rinaldo maintained. “We’re celebrating our farmers market and our farmers on St. Patrick’s Day.
“This is Canada. So everybody can be Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. And everybody got into it, as you noticed. Everybody’s dressed in green, they all have tattoos. They’re all ready to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. We’re just missing the beer.”
“May the road rise to meet you, and the wind always be at your back. and the rains fall softly on your fields. May God hold you gently in the palm of his hand.” -Irish blessing