IRISH EYES TO SMILE AT WEEKEND EVENTS.

Byline: Patricia Hesselbach Special to the Daily News

This weekend, the way to Tipperary, Donegal, Dublin and Cork grows a wee bit shorter, and the way back home is no farther than a car ride through our own fair County Ventura.

Events honoring Irish settlers and Celtic culture and traditions are scheduled to run from Saturday through Monday - St. Patrick's Day itself.

Festivities begin with the third annual Grand Encampment in downtown Ventura. Originally a one-day event, this festival and parade have been expanded to two days and feature more marching bands, animals, floats and dancers.

This year, the theme is ``Out of Ireland, 1847-1997, From Famine to Festival.'' Parade grand marshals are descendants of Irish emigre families which settled in Ventura after fleeing the great potato famine.

Mission Park will provide the setting for the Grand Encampment where food, activities and entertainment abound. A $1 admission will help offset expenses and give talented youngsters from the Claddagh School of Irish Dance an opportunity to compete in world championships abroad.

``We wanted to do more than gather and drink green beer,'' said Brian Brennan, festival founder and chairman. ``We really wanted to do some things that make a difference.''

Brennan, who came to Ventura County from Ireland at age 13, began the event in order to keep Irish traditions alive and flourishing in the area.

This year, the festival offers a petting zoo, bounce-up castle, storytelling and musical activities specifically tailored for the wee folk. Nearly 30 actors in period costume will re-create a 16th century Celtic village, telling stories of life in ancient Ireland and raising steel against steel in swashbuckling encounters.

For festival and parade information, call Brennan at [phone] or Nan Drake at [phone].

``A Musical Taste of Ireland'' will take center stage Monday evening at the Thousand Oaks Civic Plaza Probst Auditorium, when Paddy Noonan and his lively troop of performers honor the good saint with their robust sampling of comedy, song and dance.

Noonan came to this country from County Cork when he was just 12. It was after he arrived in New York that he took up playing the accordion. The lad found himself in demand at Irish house parties in the early 1950s.

``The parties began about 9 p.m. and went until first Mass Sunday morning,'' said Noonan, recalling his experiences. ``Everybody went to church and then went home to sleep the rest of the day.'' Noonan soon advanced from house parties to dance halls, where he provided entertainment between big band music.

For 27 years, Noonan has taken his vaudeville-style Irish cabaret show throughout the country and across the sea. His band consists of accordion, keyboard and percussion. At one point, the drummer trades drumsticks for dancing shoes. Two 18-year-old dancers, fresh from the Emerald Isle, will show us a few fancy steps in tribute to the current hit show ``Riverdance.'' An appearance by Noel V. ``Paddy'' Ginnity, known throughout Ireland for his off-beat humor, will be complemented nicely by the smooth ballad singing of Red Hurley and the sweet voice of Noonan's daughter, Sheila.

Paddy Noonan is proud to have performed for President Kennedy, and his music has been heard in many American concert halls, including Carnegie Hall in New York and Boston's Symphony Hall.

THE FACTS

WHAT: St. Patrick's Day Parade and third annual Grand Encampment

WHEN: 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday; noon to 4 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: Mission Park, Ventura

COST: Parade is free; $1 for Encampment and festival

WHAT: ``A Musical Taste of Ireland''

WHEN: 8 p.m. Monday

WHERE: Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.

COST: $13.50 and $23.50, available at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Box Office or by calling Ticketmaster, [phone]

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Photo

Photo: (Color) Paddy Noonan's Irish Variety Show will perform St. Patrick's Day in ``A Musical Taste of Ireland'' at the Thousand Oaks Civic Plaza.