In time for St. Patrick’s Day, the Jaffrey Recreation Department has trained up a regiment of leprechauns, ready to paint the town green.
Monday and today, the department has run “Leprechaun Training Camp,” a day camp themed around the upcoming holiday. The idea is an offshoot of a similar “Elf Training Camp” the department ran in December, Jaffrey Recreation Program Manager Sarah Hooper said.
“That was the start of it. We were talking about what themed camps we could do, and Christmas was coming up. It was such a success, we started thinking about what other training camps we could do,” Hooper said.
The leprechaun legend has several different iterations, with the most common modern depiction being a small, red-bearded man in a green coat who hides a pot of gold at the end of rainbows. Myth also paints them as shoemakers and wish granters – if you’re able to catch one.
The children signed up for the camp had scavenger hunts in the nearby children’s woods, played St. Patrick’s Day-themed games and got some exposure to Irish culture through Jaffrey Irish-American Hutch Hutchinson, who attended Monday’s camp with his tenor banjo, guitar, and other instruments to play Irish and Celtic folk tunes.
Though some of his family have been in New England since the 1600s, Hutchinson said the Irish contingent came to America in the mid-1800s, along with around hundreds of thousands of other Irish who were seeking relief from famine.
Shamrocks, Claddagh rings and the music of the Clancy Brothers was an integral part of his childhood, Hutchinson said, and the music particularly sunk deep into his soul. He’s played classic Irish folk tunes since his days in a college band, and said it’s one of his favorite parts of his heritage to share.
“I think it’s important to know your backstory and your culture. When the vast majority of people look at their own stories, we’re descended from immigrants,” Hutchinson said. “The way I learned about Irish history was through songs. It’s an oral tradition and it’s a great way to build community.”
Including with those without Irish heritage.
“There’s no need to be exclusive,” Hutchinson said. “It’s like the joke goes, ‘Everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.”
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.