Celtic Fling & Highland Games
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PRESS RELEASE
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Celebrating the 10th
Annual Celtic Fling & Highland Games,
An Unbridled Celtic Culture Celebration
Grab your shamrock, throw on your kilt and get ready to kick up your heels at the 10th annual Celtic Fling & Highland Games on the grounds of the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire this June 27, 28 and 29. Celebrating the cultures of the seven Celtic Nations, the Fling overflows with Celtic music, dance, foods, ales, crafts and so much more creating unbridled, festive fun for the whole family.
Why dedicate ten years to celebrating all things Celtic? Consider that, in a day and age when the total population of the Celtic nations is only about 13 million, there are over 41 million people living in the US who proudly boast of their Celtic heritage. Members of the Celtic Nations came to America at her birth and their descendents carry on their passion for Celtic music, foods and traditions today.
What’s New?
New to this year’s Fling is the Ward Irish Music Archives’ “History of Irish Rock.” Through displays and artifacts, the exhibit examines the creation and development of the Irish Rock genre beginning in the 1950’s with the Irish showband phenomena through the beat bands to today’s rocking performers.
The newly created Li’l Leprechaun Land, presented by Canada’s Academy of Film and Performing Arts, is a dedicated area for wee ones filled with interactive Celtic music, dance, stories and crafts. See a crazy adaptation of William Shakespeare’s "Scottish Play" MacBeth, enjoy traditional Highland and East Coast step dancing, and create special family memories by learning Celtic dance, music, storytelling and crafts! Families who have participated in the Celtic Kids Corner are invited to take part in a special Celtic Family Jam session at the end of the day called the Kids Ceilidh (pronounced “k-lee,” which is Gaelic for party)!
New musical acts adding their voices to the Fling for the first time include the Canadian five-member band, Greenwich Meantime, boasting an eclectic mix of Celtic, Rock, Folk and Pop music creating a charismatic and original sound. The Makem & Spain Brothers, hailed as the “definitive Irish folk singers of their generation,” as well as Edinburgh native Ed Miller, Ireland native Aoife Clancy and Baltimore’s The Hedge Band keep centuries of respected and revered Celtic musical traditions alive with their repertoire of traditional Celtic tunes.
Non-Stop Music Filling Eight Stages
Returning musical favorites abound on eight stages providing live, non-stop music throughout the Fling. Among them are the angelic voices of the Screaming Orphans with their pop rock take on traditional Irish tunes and NBC’s America’s Got Talent finalist, Celtic Spring, an exciting fiddle and dance band composed of the eight member Wood family playing a rich variety of music from the Celtic lands and beyond.
The unique musical set list continues Pittsburgh’s Ceann and Philadelphia’s Barleyjuice, both combining comical lyrics with physical antics creating a high-energy, pub-party feel complete with instrumental jaw droppers. Rounding out with award-winning musical groups Scythian from Washington DC, Coyote Run from Virginia and Tartan Terrors and Enter the Haggis from Canada, together they create an unofficial Fling soundtrack that ranges from energetic and contagiously festive Celtic Rock to the serenading sounds of traditional Celtic tunes.
Local Irish musicians from the greater Eastern and Central PA regions fill the air with the sounds of Ireland during a traditional Irish Seisiúm (session), an unscripted jam session of traditional Irish tunes that is one of the most popular ways for Irish musicians to gather together, swap tunes and hone their crafts.
No Celtic celebration would be complete without the majestic and driving sounds of a full pipe and drum band. The men and women of South Central Pennsylvania’s premier pipe bands, Coel Neamh (Saturday) and Susquehanna Pipe & Drum (Sunday), fully clad in Scottish kilts and accoutrements, officially open the ceremonies and perform in processionals throughout the festival grounds.
Calling All Contestants!
The spirit of competition dominates the Fling Saturday, June 28, with the rhythmic cadence produced by over 800 Irish dancers – boys and girls, men and women – at the fourth annual Celtic Fling Feis (pronounced “fesh”). Sanctioned by the North American Feis Commission, the Celtic Fling Feis is the only Feis in Central Pennsylvania. Dancers, ranging in ability from beginner to champion, compete in traditional hard shoe and elegant soft shoe jigs and reels. With the elaborate costumes worn by the ladies costing between $500 and $3,000 and the dancers’ fancy footwork, the beauty of the Celtic Fling Feis should not be missed.
The Celtic Fling Highland Games, officially sanctioned by the Mid-Atlantic Scottish Athletics Association, add to the thrill of Saturday’s competitions. Hearty men and women perform feats of strength, speed, agility and skill during seven different events including the hypnotic tossing of the Caber, an 18-foot tree trunk weighing up to 150 pounds.
Fling visitors can join in the competitive fun Saturday and Sunday for a chance to receive wonderful prizes. Men and women chow down on the Scottish cultural delicacy, haggis, in the annual Haggis Eating Contest while visitors of all ages display their sun-kissed freckles in the Whose Got the Most Freckles Contest and kilted men prove that “real men wear kilts” at the Men’s Best Legs In a Kilt Contest.
A Cultural Cornucopia
The Fling delivers a cornucopia of Celtic culture showcasing native dance, musical instruments, songs and storytelling from the Celtic lands through interactive demonstrations and displays including the amazing Sheep-to-Shawl demonstration showcasing how fibers were processed and clothing was made in years past as teams of five spin and weave wool into a finished shawl, all in the one day!
Border collies are put through their paces responding to the commands necessary to gather flocks down from the mountains or scattered through the fields while their masters explain the raising and training of such impressive and loyal animals that are still very much in demand today.
A Gathering of the Clans of the Highlands offers the chance to explore clan histories and look up surnames while learning about the programs and plans the clans and societies have for increasing the awareness of Celtic influences on American culture.
The Celtic Marketplace
In between experiencing the sites and sounds, enjoy the tastes and smells of traditional Celtic cuisine. The Fling’s 22 kitchens prepare a tasty Celtic menu topped with sumptuous shepherd’s pie, Irish steak ‘n stout stew, scotch eggs, bangers & mash, corned beef and soda bread.
Complimenting the Celtic delicacies are freshly brewed ales from the Fling’s own Microbrewery, the Swashbuckler Brew Pub. In addition to the customary ales, the Brew Pub will feature Red Beard’s Irish Red Ale; traditional Irish red ale with malty overtones and a hint of roast. Specially brewed for this festive weekend, the Irish Red will tempt the taste buds of any beer drinker. For palates looking for an alternate option, Mount Hope Winery offers chilled wines and Renaissance honey-mead.
The Celtic Marketplace continues as the definitive source for all things Celtic with more than 50 guest artisans and merchants from Scotland, Irelands, Wales, Australia, Canada and all across the United States offering scores of important and handcrafted wares from authentic Scottish Kilts to imported Irish wool. Rounding out the list of artisans are weavers, spinners, leather workers, jewelers, sculptors, a demonstrating glass blower, herbalist, blacksmith and more.
At the End of the Rainbow
Whether you take the high road or the low road, the end-of-the-day Ceilidh (pronounced “kay-lee”) is the perfect place to end up for one final celebration. It is a grand finale complete with music, dance, unbridled energy and a “hail fellow, well met” spirit flawlessly capturing everything that is moving about the past, the present and future of the Celtic peoples. Visitors immersing themselves in this unique and ever-growing cultural experience are guaranteed to leave with smiles on their faces and twinkles in their eyes that remain long after the journey home.
The Celtic Fling & Highland Games begins June 27 with a Friday Evening Concert featuring Gaelic Storm, the band featured in the film “Titanic” whose energetic live performance and enthusiastic audience interaction that channels the rowdy communal feel of an Irish pub will keep audiences on the edge of their seats. The gates open at 6PM and the music lasts until 10PM. Adult admission is $19.95 at the gate.
The non-stop music, dancing, games and feasting continue Saturday and Sunday, 11 AM until10 PM. One-day admission is $24.95 for adults and $9.95 for children ages 5 to 11 at the gate. Festival details, performer biographies and special discount offers can be found at PARenFaire.com or by calling (717) 665-7021.
The Celtic Fling & Highland Games are located on the grounds of the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire on Route 72, a half mile south of PA Turnpike exit 266, 14 miles east of Hershey and 15 miles north of Lancaster.
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Lords and Ladies of the Dance
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Under the auspices of the North American Feis Commission, over 800 Irish dancers from all over North America kick up their heels to compete in elegant soft show and powerful hard shoe Irish dances at the annual Celtic Fling Feis on Saturday, June 28, one of the many competitions occurring at the 10th annual Celtic Fling & Highland Games, June 27-29. |
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Summer Olympics From Ancient Times
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Experience Summer Olympics of a different sort at the 10th annual Celtic Fling & Highland Games set for the last weekend in June in northern Lancaster County. Hearty men and women hoping to rise in the official standings of the Mid-Atlantic Association of Scottish Athletics compete Saturday, June 28, in ancient Scottish contests including the caber toss where athletes are judged on their ability to throw an 18-foot log weighing 150 pounds. |
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The Grace of Tradition
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Dancers from Canada’s Academy of Film & Performing Arts demonstrate the graceful movements and ancient art of traditional Scottish Dance during Mount Hope Estate & Winery’s 10th annual Celtic Fling & Highland Games set for June 27-29. |
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Women demonstrate that beauty and brawn go hand in hand as they compete head to head along side the men in ancient Scottish athletic competitions at the Celtic Fling & Highland Games, June 27-29. |
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Returning to the Celtic Fling & Highland Games for a 10th anniversary celebration unlike any other, Celtic Spring is the “Von Trapp Family of Celtic music,” with their exciting and unique fiddle and dance band comprised of the six Wood family children on fiddle and in dance shoes, along with their father and mother who accompanies them on the traditional Irish drum, the bodhran, and piano. |
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The driving and majestic sounds of bagpipes and drums from pipe bands fully clad in Scottish kilts and all the accoutrements reverberate throughout the 35-acre festival grounds of the 10th annual Celtic Fling & Highland Games set for June 27-29. |
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Returning to the Celtic Fling & Highland Games is the Irish folk-rock band, Ceann, who combines traditional Irish tunes with hilariously fun lyrics creating an amazing stage performance that your don’t need to be Irish to enjoy. Ceann joins a musical line-up of more than a dozen Scottish, Irish and Celtic bands from around the world for the 10th annual Celtic Fling, June 27-29, on the grounds of the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire in northern Lancaster County. |
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Photos,
captions and logos by
Mt. Hope Staff
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