for Women with Ambition Entrepreneur Expo in New York this weekend
Shop an incredible range of Irish and American female-led brands, learn about their stories, and support small female enterprises at the Women with Ambition event in NYC this Saturday, November 16.
The Women with Ambition Female Founder & Entrepreneur Expo returns to NYC on Saturday, November 16. Women with Ambition
Don’t miss the Women with Ambition Female Founder & Entrepreneur Expo this Saturday in New York City!
Following a hugely successful first-ever event last year, Women with Ambition are returning with their second annual Female Founder & Entrepreneur Expo this Saturday, November 16 in the Bryant Park Hotel, overlooking the famous Bryant Park and Winter Village Christmas Market.
With over 30 female-led brands attending, browse and shop their products and services, learn about their brand and mission, and support small female enterprises. You will have a diverse range of brands to explore – ranging from clothing and jewelry to beauty and professional services, and so much more!
Included in your ticket is access to both floors of the WWA Expo, exclusive discounts, specials, and mini consultations from our female founders, and a gift bag for the first 100 tickets sold thanks to Cloud 10 Beauty!
Tickets for the event will be time staggered to enable crowd control and to let you enjoy the best experience possible during this curated shopping event.
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WWA Female Entrepreneurs & Founders Expo 2024
Here are just SOME of the brands that will be there on the day…
Valentia Island Vermouth: Anna and Orla O’Carroll are the wife and wife team, proudly making Ireland’s first vermouth on Valentia Island off the coast of Co. Kerry. This award-winning, handcrafted vermouth uses twenty botanicals including gorse from the island.
Katie Daly’s Ireland: An Ireland destination specialist that captures Ireland, its people, and its experiences, in carefully hand-crafted, custom-made unique tours for individuals and small groups.
OghamArt.com: Owners Christopher and Colleen Conway create unique Irish gifts featuring the ancient Irish alphabet of Ogham.
Anam Craft Marketplace: A trusted Celtic Wholesale Marketplace where USA and Canadian retailers can connect with authentic Celtic artisan from Ireland, Scotland, and the Celtic Nations.
Siobhán Kiernan Designs: Inspired by nature, history, travel, and film, Siobhán Kiernan creates unique handmade jewelry and we are pleased to share her passion for art and jewelry with you.
SBB Collection: Created by Caroline Wilkins from Cork, SBB The Collection pieces are developed from scratch starting with a block of wax, sheets of metal, or metal wire. Molded to create stories around different subjects such as social issues, the female body, sensuality, sexuality, mental health, and connection, each with their own unique meaning.
Aqua Terra Boat Tours: Co-founded by Elizabeth McCooey, and set against the stunning backdrop of Valentia Island on the iconic Ring of Kerry, Aqua Terra redefines luxury boating with exclusive and bespoke adventures. Aqua Terra’s meticulously crafted tours unveil the enchanting coastline and captivating Skellig Coast. With state of the art custom built boats, Aqua Terra prioritizes sustainability to protect Ireland’s breathtaking ecosystems and wildlife.
… and many more!https://www.instagram.com/p/DBuxMfsMZ2J/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=14&wp=537&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishcentral.com&rp=%2Fevents%2Fwomen-with-ambition-event-tickets-new-york#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A1543.2999999998137%2C%22ls%22%3A307.89999999990687%2C%22le%22%3A708.8999999999069%7D
Who is Women with Ambition?
Women with Ambition is a professional network of Irish and Irish-American women working and living in New York and the Tri-State area.
They provide a space for women of all industries to huddle together to connect more deeply, form a meaningful network, and take some time to focus on intentional self-development—all while supporting and celebrating each other as we strive for our individual career goals, successes, and ambitions.
Their offerings include an intimate six-month peer mentorship program, large networking events with panels of speakers from diverse industries, and opportunities to learn from expert guest speakers through their special “Speaker Series” workshops and unique “Education Series” workshops.
This year’s Women with Ambition Female Founder & Entrepreneur Expo is proudly sponsored by Options Technology with generous funding from the Irish Government’s Emigrant Support Programme for Irish Diaspora and support from Invest Northern Ireland and Bank of Ireland.
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WWA Female Entrepreneurs & Founders Expo 2024.
IrishCentral is a proud media partner with Women with Ambition. To find out more information about Women with Ambition, click here. You can also follow them on Facebook.
Cooking for Halloween? Try out these traditional Irish recipes before diving into your candy! Getty Images
These Irish Halloween recipes are centuries old, but are still wholesome and delicious for all your spooky costumed party monsters!
Hosting a Halloween party? You’ll have to get some real food into your guests’ bellies before diving into all that candy!
Check out these traditional Irish recipes for Halloween:
Irish Colcannon recipe for Halloween
This tasty dish is a popular favorite at Oíche Shamhna (Halloween) and is easy to make, especially with the kids. The word colcannon is from the Irish cal ceannan, which literally means “white-headed cabbage.”
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In the past, as is done with barmbrack, charms were mixed into the colcannon. Charms found were seen as a portent for the future. A button meant you would remain a bachelor, and a thimble meant you would remain a spinster for the coming year. A ring meant you would get married, and a coin meant you would come into wealth.
Some women filled their socks with colcannon and hung them from the handle of the front door in the belief that the first man through the door would become their future husband.
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Colcannon (Getty Images)
Colcannon Ingredients:
4 lbs potatoes, or about 7-8 large potatoes (‘old’ potatoes or russet potatoes are best, waxy potatoes won’t do)
1 green cabbage or Kale
1 cup milk or cream
1 stick of butter, divided into three parts
4-5 scallions (green onions), chopped
Salt and Pepper
Fresh Parsley or chives *Not everyone adds scallions to colcannon, but they are worth having, in my opinion.
How to make Colcannon:
Peel and boil the potatoes. Remove the core from the cabbage, slice it thinly, and place into a large saucepan. Cover with boiling water and keep at a slow rolling boil until the cabbage is just wilted and has turned a darker green. This can take between 3-5 minutes, depending on the cabbage. Test it and don’t let it overcook. If anything, it should be slightly undercooked.
When the cabbage is cooked, drain it well and squeeze to get any excess moisture out, then return to the saucepan.
Add one-third of the butter and cover. Leave it covered and in a warm place, but not on a burner, with the butter melting gently into it while you continue.
When the potatoes are soft, drain, and then return to the saucepan with the drained potatoes in. Put burner to low, leaving the lid off so that any excess moisture can evaporate.
When they are perfectly dry, add the milk to the saucepan along with a third of the butter and the chopped scallions (if you are using them). Allow the milk to warm but not boil – it is about right when the butter has fully melted into it and it starts to steam.
With a potato masher or a fork, mash the potatoes thoroughly into the butter/milk mixture. Do NOT pass through a ricer or, worse, beat in a mixer as it will make the potatoes gluey and disgusting.
Mix the cabbage thoroughly through the mashed potato.
Before serving, season with a pinch of salt and sprinkle with fresh parsley or chives. Most importantly, make a well in the center of the mound of potato and put the last third of the butter in there to melt.
Irish Barmbrack recipe for Halloween
In the weeks leading up to Halloween, homes are littered with the delicious treat known as barmbrack, which is an Irish fruit loaf. The title comes from the Irish ‘bairín breac’ which literally means ‘speckled loaf.’
Traditionally in Ireland, each member of the family would get a slice of the cake. But you had to be careful when chewing the delicious treat, as there were several charms hidden inside, wrapped in baking paper, which signified omens for the finder’s future.
If you found a ring, you’re in for some romance. If you got the coin, then you’re in for a prosperous year, but if you found the rag then your financial future was in doubt. If you find the thimble, then you will never marry! Nowadays, all barmbracks sold in Irish shops around Halloween contain a ring.
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Halloween Barmbrack (Getty Images)
Barmbrack Ingredients:
375g dried fruit
300ml cold tea
225g self-raising flour
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon mixed spice
125g caster sugar
Honey or Golden Syrup (optional – for decoration)
How to make Barmbrack:
Soak the fruit in tea overnight, then drain. Mix together with the rest of the ingredients (apart from the honey/golden syrup) and stir in the charms. Don’t over knead the dough or your delicately re-hydrated fruit will break up.
Line the base of a 20cm round cake tin or 900g loaf tin with greaseproof paper. Grease the tin and pile in the mixture.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 340F for about an hour until risen and firm to the touch.
You can brush melted honey or golden syrup over the brack before cutting. Or glaze the ‘brack with a syrup made from two teaspoons of sugar dissolved in three teaspoons of boiling w
EXCLUSIVE: Irish influencer Vivienne Sayers said Samhain is “an old festival, and then Christianity took over and turned it into Halloween.”
By Eleanor Tolbert
21:59 ET, OCT 23 2024
A large skeleton during Dragon of Shandon Samhain Parade on Halloween night in Cork City (Image: Getty)
Jack-o-Lanterns grinning from outside doorways. Bags and buckets full of individually wrapped candies. People wearing costumes from the terrifying to the hilarious.
When you think of Halloween, a specific image comes to mind, but did you know the holiday stems from an ancient Irish festival?
She told the Irish Star that Samhain is Irish for ‘November,’ as it marks the beginning of the month. Oct. 31 is called Oíche Shamhna, or the ‘eve of Samhain,’ as there isn’t a direct translation for Halloween
Sayers said: “What this marks, essentially, is a Celtic festival that marks the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter.”
During Samhain, people would welcome the dead back to the living realm for a short period of time.
“Generally, it was a nice festival. It was nothing to do with scary ghosts or anything like that,” Sayers said. “It was really a time of reflection to look back on the harvest they had just had.”
A game called “bobáilín” was a major part of the festival, which involves bobbing for apples. (Image: Getty)
When Irish immigrants traveled to the US in 19th century, they brought their traditions over with them.
Sayers said many of the games that are played at Halloween events come from Samhain. A game called “bobáilín” was a major part of the festival, which involves bobbing for apples.
Another part of the celebration includes tine chnámh, which means lighting bonfires. Chnámh translates to “bone fire,” which refers to their original purpose of burning animal bones.
One Irish tradition that hasn’t made its way over to the US is Bairín Breac. Sayers said the bread is baked with charms inside, and depending on what is in your slice – whether it’s a gold ring or a cloth – tells your fortune for the future.
“It was an old festival, and then Christianity took over and turned it into Halloween,” she said.
There are four festivals in Ireland that celebrate the four quarters of the year. They are Imbolc, early spring and coinciding with St. Brigid’s Day; Bealtaine, which is the start of summer; Lúnasa, beginning of autumn; and finishes the year off with Samhain.
Halloween: Tools to keep those devilish, ghastly ghouls at bay on Samhain. iStock
Halloween, which the Irish can claim as their holiday, has inspired many traditions on how to ward off evil spirits. The Irish believed that on October 31 the evilest of creatures and ghouls came to visit them as the year saw an end of the light and the beginning of the dark season.
According to a leading commentator on agriculture in Kansas, John Schlageck, “The Irish believed fairies, who came out of their mounds at Halloween, played pranks on the people who lived above ground. When the Irish came to this country, they decided to emulate the fairies by going around and putting carriages on barns and turning over outhouses.”
As the Irish had many ways of ensuring they weren’t stolen away by the fairies on Halloween night, they were also wary that they would follow them across the ocean and so they brought their safety tricks with them wherever they went. Several of the traditions have been transported across the world, and here are just a few of the “tools” to keep those devilish, ghastly ghouls at bay.
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Bonfires
If you light a massive bonfire, you are more than sure to keep the spirit world away. Fairies will be terrified of the flames.
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(Getty)
Black cats
Schlageck said these creatures are “associated with Faust who sold his soul to the devil for knowledge and power.” As such the ghouls are wary of our dark-furred, little feline friends. Whoever said a black cat was bad luck?
The faces carved on the pumpkins are said to keep away ghosts from the door. What face will scare off the fairies more this year?
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(Getty)
Dressing up
Although the scary costumes may have fallen by the wayside recently with superheroes and princesses topping the list of trick-or-treat ideas children have these days, the tradition of dressing up as various creatures is another way for people to ward off bad spirits.
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(Getty)
Halloween colors are still orange and black, however, colors are associated with the dead so if you’re feeling like getting into the Oíche Samhna (Halloween) spirit, simply stick on something in these colors.
