Pasco’s St. Patrick’s Parish Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day With Encounter 2013

Bringing people together is the goal of "Tri-Cities Encounter 2013: A Place for Us" -- a two-day public festival including music, art and exhibits at Three Rivers Convention Center in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. It is sponsored by St. Patrick Parish with the collaboration of the Knights of Columbus, local parishes, World Youth Alliance, and a broad variety of local arts organizations and performers.

It will take place from March 16-17 at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick. The entire weekend is completely free of charge. Details and a complete schedule are available at www.TCEncounter.org.

Performances by:

• Mid-Columbia Symphony Orchestra (Nicholas Wallin, conductor and music director)
• Celtic Spring, a nationally-known ensemble performing traditional Irish music and dance
• Mid-Columbia Mastersingers
• Mid-Columbia Regional Ballet
• Mid-Columbia Regional Pipe and Drum Corps
• Base 6, Pasco’s award winning break dance crew
• Troupe, a high school theater group
• Acoustic guitarist Daniel Oberreuter of The Thirsting
• Skweez the Weezle, an acoustic Celtic band
• Pianist Jeremy Neufeld
• Cielo de Mexico, a folkloric dance ensemble from St. Patrick Parish

This event also includes many learning opportunities through a series of guided exhibits and two keynote presentations by Msgr. Eduardo Chavez. In his address, Unity is a Person: Our Lady of Guadalupe, he will explain why Our Lady of Guadalupe is important not only to persons of Mexican descent, but to all Americans. Msgr. Chavez is a priest from Mexico City who is the world’s foremost expert on the apparitions of Our Lady to Juan Diego in 1531.

On St. Patrick’s Day, Sunday, March 17, the event comes to an exciting conclusion with a free public concert of music and dance from a variety of cultures. The concert begins at 2 p.m. and visitors can experience the exhibits beginning at noon.