In the summer of 1988, Dublin celebrated its first anniversary of becoming a city by ushering in a new tradition.
Flashback: The first Dublin Irish Festival drew just 500 people to Coffman Park over Aug. 5-7. The suburb had recently surpassed 5,000 people to obtain city status.
There were musical performances, Irish wolfhounds, dancing and dart competitions, per a festival history website.
The Columbus Feis, an annual Irish dance competition that continues today, was a focal point and helped with organizing.
The intrigue: The Central Ohio festivities coincided with another big milestone across the pond — Dublin, Ireland, also celebrated 1988 as its 1,000th birthday.
Today, the local Dublin population is creeping toward 50,000 people and its ever-popular Irish Festival, still at Coffman, draws even more than that.
Attendance skyrocketed during the '90s and a reported 77,000 people visited last year.
Stop by: 4pm-midnight Friday,11am-midnight Saturday and 11am-8pm Sunday. Tickets.
