By Kate Bartlett
The Bob McCarthy Irish Christmas has become a hallmark tradition in the village of Ellicottville. Not only does this event help ring in the holiday season, but it embodies the sense of community, service and generosity of the area raising money for Family Support’s Santa’s Workshop, the Cattaraugus Country Sheriffs’ Santa Program in honor of the late Bob McCarthy. This year’s event will be held on Saturday, December 9 at 6pm at the newly designed Beer Hall at Ellicottville Brewing Company.
Bob McCarthy was a passionate philanthropist, a master craftsman, and known to be the voice of Ellicottville. Bob was a Special Education teacher in Buffalo and ski coach in Ellicottville, his winter home. He moved to Ellicottville after retirement and is known for his fun fundraisers like Celtic Thunder, Americana Folk Art & Music Fair and his most recognized Irish Christmas. Bob started the Irish Christmas 16 years ago to provide funding for Family Support’s “Santa’s Workshop” helping families during the holiday season. Following the passing of Bob in 2016, a number of his friends decided to carry on the tradition in his honor to continue to support his philanthropic endeavors.
Not only does the event provide the bulk of the funding for McCarthy’s Family Support, but it is sure to be a memorable evening with lighthearted fun. Auction highlights always include home baked pies and wooden creations crafted by Bob McCarthy himself. It’s become tradition that every year an Irish Whiskey basket donated by Cynthia Gibbons and Mike Kay is either auctioned or raffled off. This is one of the more popular items as we all like a little nip of Irish Whiskey.
The Board of the Bob McCarthy Foundation & Friends of Bob McCarthy volunteer to make this event possible. The event is back with a live auction this year after a two-year hiatus during the pandemic which the auction was held virtually. Event organizers believe it will be bigger and better than previous live events because of the anticipation and the newly designed location at EBC. Each one of the live auction items is paired with a baked good from local favorites including chef extraordinaire, Tom Kneeland. Beyond the live auction, there will be an extensive basket raffle so most everyone can win a nice gift for a small donation.
Local favorite auctioneer Brooks LeFeber will auction a limited number of fabulous McCarthy originals and other hand-crafted items. Irish duo Peter Zalocha and Charlie Coughlin of Crikwater will entertain with upbeat fiddle tunes, traditional verses, rowdy pub sing-a-longs, elegant ballads as masters of the fiddle, banjo, mandolin and guitar.
Don’t miss out on the fun! Stop down to Ellicottville Brewing Company on Saturday December 9th at 6pm. For anyone interested in getting more involved, or if you’d like to volunteer for the event contact Greg at 716-474-7832 or to donate a baked item call Katy at 716-801-2740. Donations to the cause can be made on line at bobmccarthyfoundation.com or by mail to PO Box 101 Ellicottville, NY.