Promoting Irish-American Culture
and Preserving Local Histories
Through Year-Round Programs

Mission & Core Values

“You seem to find information and issues – people who know and do things – that are new and fascinating and important to know.”

Founded in 2004, the Crossroads Irish-American Festival promotes the discovery and understanding of the Irish experience in the Americas to ensure that the richness of the arts, culture, history and traditions of this heritage are both held in great esteem and preserved for generations to come. We achieve this mission through the production of events and projects that promote Irish-American culture and heritage with an emphasis on the Irish and Irish-American communities of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Located in San Francisco, a global capital of arts and culture, the Crossroads Irish-American Festival serves as a dynamic platform for emerging and established artists and culture workers to reach a regional, national, and global audience.

The Crossroads Irish-American Festival offers a breadth and depth of programming about Irish-America that is unparalleled both in the Bay Area and beyond. Our programming promotes Irish-American arts and culture with a focus on our history as well as a commitment to feature new and emerging works.

In a society in which stereotypes about the Irish are ubiquitous – especially in media outlets during the month of March – the Crossroads Irish-American Festival creates meaningful opportunities for adults and children to relate to the community and their heritage in ways that inspire curiosity and a desire to learn more.

The Crossroads Irish-American Festival undertakes this work while embracing the following core values:

  • Crossroads Celebrates Irish-American Heritage. We aim to recognize the distinct and meaningful history of the Irish experience in America.
  • Crossroads is committed to the local community. We value the important role the Irish have played in the San Francisco Bay Area and we are committed to reveal these hidden histories through our programming and projects.
  • Crossroads expands the traditional notions of “history”. We emphasize the life stories of families, neighborhoods, and communities – grandparents, uncles, aunts, parents, and individuals — the often-untold lives of the day-to-day figures that construct the families and communities into which we are born.
  • Crossroads explores diversities in Irish-American experience. We explore how Irish-American identity is both culturally and geographically broader than predominantly understood in the United States.
  • Crossroads Brings the Best & Brightest to the Bay Area. We host events that bring the public together with the finest Irish cultural creators in the Americas.