25th Anniversary
2005

To help celebrate the 25th anniversary of Milwaukee Irish Fest, The Irish American Post will be running stories on some of the many volunteers who help make the world's largest Irish cultural event such a success. These features will appear in The Post over the next few months.

Ceszynski Retains Fest Poster Pusher Title

By Martin Hintz

On Friday, August 21, 1981, Veronica Ceszynski was sitting in her Shorewood sunroom with all the windows open. It was her wedding anniversary. "I heard wonderful, lilting Irish music. Where was it coming from? And, it went on and on for hours. Someone was having a grand party!" she recalled. 

Since it was her wedding anniversary, Ceszynski decided to stay home that night. The next morning, her sister, Mary Pharmer, called to say, "You'll never believe what happened at the lake front last night." As Pharmer described her Friday evening, Ceszynski knew that she had heard, but missed seeing, a very special event. "That Friday night was the only day of Irish Fest that I have ever missed. But, I did hear it!" Ceszynski laughed.

Saturday found Ceszynski at the noon opening time waiting in line for what was to become one of the most important life changes for her and a continuing lifestyle and tradition for her family. "I savored the cultural area, the music and dance. DeDannan had us all up and dancing a reel around the entire audience. It reminded me of stories my grandmother told when I was young," she said.

That Sunday, Ceszynski was back again and enjoyed every minute of the .dancing, listening, singing and learning. As the 1981 festival closed, she saw a red-haired fellow stationed at the gate selling the "official Irish Fest poster." She just chuckled at what a crazy job he had. 

"I could certainly never do anything like that, but I knew I had to get involved and do something," said Ceszynski. A friend, Cease Grinwald, who began the first Irish Fest Summer School, was in charge of roving entertainers nd invited her to an Irish Fest Board meeting in October. The end of that meeting saw Ceszynski committed to being the new poster coordinator. 

The first Irish Fest posters were submitted for consideration with an entrance fee of $5. A committee chose the best of these entrants for the official poster. Most were sent by professional artists and it was hard to choose, Ceszynski recalled. "The idea is to create a graphic that will effectively publicize the festival and yet remain an art poster to sell to the public. Posters are now displayed in galleries, offices and homes throughout the world. It has become highly collectible," she said.

Ceszynski’s favorite during this era was the 1989 version, created by her late husband Ron and featuring her children, who were then with what was the Cashel School of Irish Dance. The selection committee chose the artwork, not knowing that the artist. "Because it also had the Shamrock Club Color Guard, fiddler Liz Carroll and other musicians and Paddy McFest. It really tells the story of the festival. Ron died in 1990 and I'm so glad his artwork is part of Irish Fest," Ceszynski said.

In 1991, a new era began, said Ceszynski, describing the joint effort with the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design to create the posters. This project has become one of the most important segments of the students' school year, she explained. 

Those taking on the pitch need to do a full range of duties, from conception to client presentation and through the printed work. The process has been enthusiastically received by the school’s students and faculty, as well as festival guests, Ceszynski said. 

The 1996 poster was created by Scott Taylor to coincide with the 150th Anniversary of the City of Milwaukee and the coming of the Irish, she said. "It was reprinted once and very few are left , but it is still so popular. Since any of the MIAD artists have gone on to important careers in art, it has been fun to be there at the start of their climb to success," according to Ceszynski.

Each year, more than 1,000 posters are printed, with just a few remaining at the conclusion of the fest, with many festival guests collecting the posters each year. 

In 1982 and 1983, the Poster Booth was located in the Grafton Street market area, Ceszynski recalled. As the poster became more collectible, three booths on the grounds were needed: Main Gate, middle of the grounds and South Gate. 

"However, as our supply has dwindled we now have booths at the Main and South Gates only," said Ceszynski. "The volunteers who staff these booths are a dedicated bunch and come back year after year. Margaret Wadsworth, who also sings in the Irish Fest choir, has had the opening shift at the South Gate since 1982. I've always said if we closed that booth, Margaret would still be there selling posters," she laughed.

Ceszynski’s son, John, and daughter, Jennie, were also very involved in the early years. Before Irish Fest had storage facilities, the family carried all leftover posters up three flights of stairs to attic storage. Jennie and her dance mate, Michele McNulty (Nabih), continue as volunteers and have sold posters for many years, her mom indicated. 

As part of the 2004 festival’s emphasis on Ireland’s offshore islands, the poster by MIAD student Andy Sharlein showed a Galway Hooker. This style of boat was traditionally used as the main method of transportation off the coast of Galway and coincided with the docking of a real, full size Galway Hooker near the Cultural Village on the south end of the Irish Fest grounds that year.

Poster winners: 
1981 Karen Lehre
1982 Wayne Peterson
1983 Mel Teiss 
1984 McDill Studios
1985 McDill Studios
1986 McDill Studios
1987 Ron Ceszynski, designer; John Neinhuis, Photography
1988 G. Coffey
1989 Ron Ceszynski
1990 Steve Slaske, artist; Tommy Makem, poetry

The MIAD years
1991 Bette Leyre
1992 Jennifer Knaack
1993 Aaron Boyd
1994 Ken McCance
1995 Paul Fleming
1996 Scott Taylor
1997 Julie Hartman
1998 Raymond Strange
1999 Paul Ward
2000 Bill Korinek
2001 Melissa Arnold
2002 Nick Sanders
2003 Tina Eveland
2004 Andy Sharlein
 

As the festival grew, so did the Ceszynski family involvement. Daughter Jennie (now McGrath) was in the first class of Cashel beginners. She went on to collect many medals during her 14 years with the school. Son John also danced for a number of years, winning numerous awards, as well. 

"It was during the early years that I created the board and officially hired Dennis Dennehy as our dancemaster. The school now has more than 400 students," Ceszynski said.

John has become a well-known area uilleann piper and plays the bodhran and whistle, performing four times in the fleadh at Listowel, Ireland, and competing once, his mother said. He now teaches Irish music. During the 2003 festival, young Ceszynski was instrumental in scheduling a weekend session for pipers, a program attended by musicians from Ireland, the States and beyond. 

Over the years, Ceszynski also spent time as coordinator for Paddy and Molly McFest and for the clan reunions "The 1987 Mangin Clan Reunion was so memorable for me as my mother was of the Monaghans, part of the Mangin clan. Both she and my brother, Jim Pharmer, were still alive and thrilled to be part of this reunion," Ceszynski said.

In 2001, she was inspired to create and open a "News Agent" shop in the Cultural Village. The idea was to bring publishers and editors of Irish publications to the festivalgoers. 

"It is typical of the Irish that they are insatiable readers and always on the lookout for things from ‘home.’ In the first year, we took over two counters in the Cultural Tent," she said. In 2002, the space expanded to a 30 x 60 foot tent, fronted by a smaller tent-replica of Kenny's Bookstore of Galway. Publications were brought from Ireland and sold by Des Kenny himself. 

Now called the Literary Corner, the area includes newspapers, magazines, booksales outlets, a place to meet authors and have books signed and a coffee shop offering Gerry O'Brien's sundries and Bewley's tea & coffee. "The Cultural Village has grown into a festival unto itself and the Literary Corner is a special spot in it," Ceszynski concluded.