Event organizers are expecting record numbers of attendees at this year’s festival, which runs the weekends of Jan. 30-31 and Feb. 5-7. The event will feature more entertainment offerings including performances from the band Albannach, the introduction of acrobatic performer “Daniel Duke of Danger” and continued involvement by local renaissance fair troupe, the Thieves Guilde.

Last year’s attendance was about 48,000 and organizers are hoping that the event will reach 50,000 this year.

Albannach, a Scottish band that plays Celtic music will be performing both weekends of the festival.

Dan Looker, known as “Daniel Duke of Danger,” will also be added to this year’s entertainment schedule. According to his Web site dukeofdanger.com, Looker is a graduate of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College and has been performing a tour of renaissance festivals since 1993.

Hutchinson said of Looker, “He’s a real pro from the ren-faire circuit. He does all kinds of acrobatics and things and it’s just very fun and funny.”

Aside from the new acts, many of the performers from last year’s event will be back.

“When we get something that really works, we hold on to it,” he said. “Because these people helped us build this show, a lot of them, we don’t fire them to bring in someone new.”

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By KLINT LOWRY | The Suncoast News

NEW PORT RICHEY – The Pasco-Hernando Community College Foundation’s 2010 Performing Arts Series starts off with a big weekend, featuring one of music’s most timeless genres one night and another that defined a decade the next.

In what has become something of a tradition, Gaelic Storm will lead off the season with a concert at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15, at the school’s recently refurbished Performing Arts Center at the PHCC West Campus, 10230 Ridge Road.

The quintet has appeared there each of the last three years, mesmerizing audiences with their repertoire that includes both Celtic rock and the traditional Irish and Scottish music that inspired it, with which they have entertained audiences around the world for over a decade.

Gaelic Storm formed in Santa Monica, Calif., in 1996, at a neighborhood Irish pub. A year later, the band gained notoriety portraying a steerage class band in the movie “Titanic”. Since then, they have toured extensively, spreading the popularity of Celtic music while expanding the genre with new arrangements of traditional melodies as well as original compositions that encompass both the energetic, upbeat humor and haunting ballads it is known for.

Three of Gaelic Storm’s albums have made the Top 10 on Billboard’s World Chart, with the 2008 release “What’s the Rumpus?” reaching the No. 1 slot in its second week.

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