Monday March 17, 2025
Irish Cultural Center and McClelland Library
St. Patrick’s Day happenings
FREE access to the Irish Cultural Center and McClelland Library campus from 10am – 5pm.
ALL DAY in the Irish Cottage test your tea tasting skills and see if you can blind taste teas and tell which is which!
Family Story Hour in the Castle Keep from 10:30am – 11:30am (sign up required below)
Enjoy Irish cooking demonstrations throughout the day from 11:30am – 2:30pm.
LIVE MUSIC by Claude Maddox from 1pm – 3pm
Catch a picture with the Irish Wolfhounds roaming the campus from 3pm – 5pm!
Learn about the interesting traditions of an Irish Wake with an interactive demonstration from 3:30pm – 4:30pm.
Campus closes at 5pm
Irish whiskey tasting class at 6pm – ticketed event (see button below)
Story Hour Sign Up
Whiskey Tasting Tickets
Claude Mattox – “Screamin’ Javelinas Music”
Claude plays several instruments including; 6 & 12 string acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitar, harmonica and percussion. He has been singing and playing guitar with his buddies in neighborhood garage bands since age 12 (inspired by the Beach Boys and the British Invasion).
Claude has lived in Phoenix since 1979 and has been performing music locally since 1997, playing at venues including Desert Sky Pavilion (Talking Stick Resort Amphitheater), Hard Rock Café Phoenix, US Airways Center (Footprint Center), State Farm Stadium, Tempe Town Lake, The Arizona Irish Faire, and the Arizona, Las Vegas and San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathons.
Claude and the Screamin’ Javelinas have had the privilege to be the opening act for the Goo Goo Dolls, Gin Blossoms, Lee Greenwood, and performed with Roger Clyne. Claude is the founding member of the Screamin’ Javelinas Band. He wrote the lyrics for the official song for the Rock N’ Roll Arizona Marathon, “Arizona is a Rock and Roll Marathon”.
Amber Sampson – Cooking demonstation chef
Amber Sampson is trained cultural anthropologist, food researcher and professional chef, who loves exploring the world through food. Sampson holds two degrees from Arizona State University, Cultural Anthropology, and Food Systems Sustainability. She is also a trained professional Chef, with a degree in culinary arts and nutrition and recently earned her Masters in Gastronomy from Boston University. She studied race, and consumption with Harvard University, brought ancient bread to life with fellow Anthropologists from Yale, and was awarded the prestigious US Government’s Gilman Scholarship for archeological research with Arizona’s Tohono O’odham Nation.
Using food as a universal language, her research focuses on the relationship between food and culture. Sampon’s family immigrated from Cork, Ireland in 1920. Specifically, Sampson enjoys studying the anthropological relationship between food and culture in ancient times. Her work brings present day relevance to ancient meals, people and customs, giving others a taste and connection to our delicious past, revealing a more sustainable and understanding future.
Sampson currently works teaching in the Gastronomy graduate department at Boston University. She volunteers on the Board of Directors at Slow Food Phoenix, and has worked with the Arizona American Indian Tourism Association, Arizona State University, and at the S’edav Va’aki Museume (formerly Pueblo Grande Museum) in Phoenix, as the Indigenous Foodways Facilitator . You can find Sampson in the warm Southwestern desert of Arizona, teaching culinary, foraging, cooking, researching, gardening, and exploring our tasty past.