Asheville – The Asheville Celtic Festival, held Saturday at the WNC Ag Center, was a rousing success. Event organizer Mark Ferguson said, “We had 3200 pre-sold tickets before the festival, and a large number paid at the gate.” Ferguson estimated that perhaps 4,000 people were in attendance, possibly a new record. Many of those people were locals, but there were visitors from surrounding states as well. Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia were well represented.
A Perfect Day
It was a perfect day for the event, with the weather well into the upper 50s and sunny, which made it very comfortable for all of the outdoor activities. Those activities included sheep herding demonstrations with border collies; highland cows (pronounced Heeland coos), adorable small cows with longhair and bangs over their eyes; and the outdoor athletics that are the highlight of any Celtic event. At this festival, the athletics included the caber toss, the stone putt, and the sheaf toss. These athletic events demonstrate how highland warriors kept in shape and are now battles of strength. Both men and women participate.
Festival attendees were totally enamored by the Irish Wolfhounds, gentle giants about the size of a Great Dane, and the quirky and adorable Scottie dogs, aka Scottish Terriers.
Whether people dressed in period garb or regular street clothes, you could see them swaying to the music on stage and in the Celtic Cafe. As usual, Albanach gathered the largest crowd of attendees, drawn to the soulful drums and bagpipes that used to be used to rouse the troops for war. Knoxville Pipe and Drum Corp and the Grandfather Mountain Pipe and Drum Corp held everyone spellbound as they marched through the vendors or played outside.
There were Celtic food vendors, Fey serving their mead, and beer vendors for libations. The venders, crafters, and purveyors of kilts, clan tartans, jewelry, and the finest leather items filled the Davis Building. There was even a castle stage where live sword fights were performed, much to the delight of the crowd.
A Lesson on History
John Miles, a retired US Marine Corps officer and former college professor, delivers lectures on historical topics to groups and writes articles for history periodicals. He presents lectures at multiple Scottish Highland Games and Celtic festivals throughout the country. John presented three lectures: Reasons for Scottish and Scots-Irish Immigration to North America; The Viking Invasions of the British Isles; and the Revolutionary War battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge, NC the last Highland Charge in History.
Other Upcoming Events
The first Celtic event of the year in this area, the festival is fairly new, but it’s clear that it is growing as more people learn about it. It’s the perfect lead-in to the round of Scottish Highland Games coming up in our region. The Loch Norman Highland Games, celebrating their 29th year in Huntersville, NC, will happen April 15–16, 2023. The Greenville, NC, games, started in 2006 and called Gallabrae, have become a huge Memorial Day weekend tradition, with military honors. Gallabrae is a one-day event and falls on May 7th this year. The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games are the best known, having been around since 1956. This year’s Grandfather Games will run from July 6 through the 9th.
All of these games and festivals are held to foster and restore interest in traditional dancing, piping, drumming, athletic achievement, music, and Gaelic culture, as well as to just have fun. Ya din’t hae ta be a Scot ta enjoy them, aye.