Irish Eyes Smiling at the Elks Lodge

It was a sold out St. Patrick's Day party at the , and amid dancing and celebration the club raised $2,000 for charity.

Guests enjoyed Irish favorites like shepherd's pie, potato soup and Irish soda bread prepared by lodge volunteers Ann Mallen and Clint MacDonald.

Here's more from club spokesman Hal Mattson:

Musical entertainment for the evening was provided by Long Beach’s famous Irish Pub band - the Whooligans. Later in the evening, an exhibition of outstanding Irish dancing was provided by the youthful world class dancers from Aniar Academy of Laguna Niguel to which the Elks Lodge provided a donation. The dinner crowd enthusiastically greeted and enjoyed the authentic Irish music and Irish dancing.

Elks Lodge event chairman Ray Mallen said, “Tonight, all attendees claimed to be from Irish stock. They were generous in their charitable donations while also enjoying some Irish culture. The Irish music, the Irish dancing and Irish refreshments were all top shelf.”

Other Elk member volunteers assisting with event operations included:

Tickets: Stephanie Bongartz; Posters, Seating and Decorations, Clint MacDonald; Kitchen Crew, Ed and Pam MacKey, Mallory and Brandon Eyeman, Gillian, Maeve, Meg and Sam O’Reilly, Tom Banning, Gary Bennington and Gary Smith; Audio/Visual and Stage Management, Derek Randles.