CelticFest takes place at the Warwick Showgrounds this Saturday 30 September and Sunday 1 October – and tickets are selling fast!
CelticFest is a community event, run by volunteers, where festival goers can immerse themselves in two full days of events to celebrate all things Celtic.
Gates will open at 2pm on Saturday 30 September, and the action and entertainment starts right away in the Grandstand Arena and on the Main Stage.
In the Grandstand Arena, see the start of the Australian Highland Games Championships, with professional strongmen and women competing across three disciplines on the Saturday: the stone put, weight for distance, and the hammer.
The strongmen and women will compete in four divisions across the two days of competition – Open Men’s, Open Women’s, Masters’ Men’s and Men’s Under 90kg – with the winner of the Open Men’s title at CelticFest Warwick going on to represent Australia at the World Amateur Highland Games Championships in Norway in March 2024.
The Highland Games won’t be the only display of strength on the Grandstand Arena on Saturday afternoon, however; CelticFest patrons can take in the spectacle of a Viking battle between re-enactment groups Jorth Gar, of the New Varangian Guard, and Rognvald’s Lith, which will engage in heroic combat and present a variety of tactical situations.
The Medieval Arena will be open from Saturday afternoon – closing at dusk – for festival-goers to wander through and to view more demonstrations of close combat, as well as demonstrations of lost trades, including chainmail-making. They can also participate in workshops and classes, such as felt-making; schedules will be posted on blackboards within the village.
Members of the public are encouraged to dress up in medieval costume, and to interact with the re-enactors; some of whom will be selling items such as authentic drinking horns and chainmail making kits. There’ll also be a ‘photo booth’, where – for a gold coin donation – CelticFest patrons can dress up and have their photo taken, including on medieval thrones.
You’ll also not want to miss the Highland Coos, featuring cattle from Keans Agri Leyburn Highland Stud in our ‘Coo Corner’. These iconic, gentle creatures embody the Scottish Highlands, and like nothing more than a comb or a good scratch! Pick up some Highland Coo facts during a free 30-minute talk on Saturday afternoon, with the opportunity for pats and photos afterwards ($5 – cash only).
A massed band and grand parade will close out the entertainment in the Grandstand Arena from 6.45pm on Saturday evening with Murrumba Pipe Band, Toowoomba Caledonian Society Pipe Band, Redcliffe Scottish Pipe Band and Brisbane Pipe Band joined by Vikings and other medieval re-enactors, strongmen and women, and possibly even Hume the Highland coo – it’ll be a spectacle not to be missed!
Music also starts from 2pm on Saturday on the CelticFest Main Stage, with duo Rebecca Wright & Donald McKay kicking off the afternoon’s entertainment, playing the Scottish hits from 1640 to the present day! They’ll be followed by Auld Alliance, performing a fusion of Scottish and French upbeat folk songs and heartfelt ballads, and Australian Celtic Women, fresh from their two-hour premiere show at Club Warwick RSL the evening before. Highlander will then take the stage to perform an energetic set of rocking Scottish music, featuring the bagpipes and fiddle.
In the CelticFest Market Square you’ll get the chance to see roaming entertainers across the weekend, including pipe bands from Murrumba, Toowoomba, Redcliffe and Brisbane; busking Celtic musicians and tribal belly dancers.
Saturday night is Irish night at CelticFest! The Darling Downs Irish Club will host a family ceilidh (pron. ‘kay-lee’) in The Pavilion from 5pm-8pm, with dances called by The Scotsman – no experience needed, just bring your dancing feet!
If you’re after even more of a party vibe and a craicing good time on Saturday night, The Gathering ‘kick-arse’ Irish band, fronted by award-winning musician Mick McHugh, take to the Main Stage at 7.30pm, accompanied by Cape Byron Celtic Dance. The Gathering pride themselves on getting their audiences up and having fun, with their high energy Irish traditional tunes and well-known rousing sing-a-longs, coupled with popular and classic covers from bands and musicians such as Avicii, Mumford and Sons, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Johnny Cash.
You won’t go hungry or thirsty at CelticFest! Geraghty’s Irish bar and the Celtic Kiosk will open Saturday and Sunday, and the Celtic Canteen will also open on Sunday, offering food and drink alongside a wide selection of other food and drink vendors in our Banquet Plaza. Indulge in a Guinness pie or a Cornish pasty, wash it down with an Irn Bru; those more adventurous should definitely try the infamous Haggis, which will be served up in pies, sausage rolls and burgers (trust me, it is delicious! Just don’t think about it).
Gates will open again for CelticFest at the Warwick Showgrounds from 9am-4pm on Sunday 1 October, and again the day is jam-packed with entertainment! The Australian Highland Games continues on the Grandstand Arena, with events including weight for distance, weight for height, hammer, and everyone’s favourite, the caber toss.
There’ll be more Viking battles, more Highland coo talks, more roaming entertainers, and more opportunities for festival-goers to stroll the Medieval Arena, view combat displays and to participate in workshops and classes!
And in case you don’t get the chance to tap your feet enough on the Saturday, there’s more music to come on Sunday, with the Main Stage again filled with acts from 9am. You’ll get a second chance to see all the performers from the Saturday afternoon session, plus The Outlanders, Munsterbucks and The Scotsman.
And, in a very special addition to CelticFest, award-winning musician and CelticFest’s music co-ordinator Lissa-Kathe Rummery will play her beautiful 36-string concert lever harp, Catalina, in two sessions in The Pavilion. Lissa-Kathe’s performances will be part of a full program of events in The Pavilion on Sunday, also including workshops on introductory Gaelic, ceilidh-dancing, and music, ending with a Celtic Music Sesh when bands and musicians from across the two days will come together to jam.
Who doesn’t like a good browse through a market? CelticFest has this in hand as well, with artisans gathering in Market Square to display their wares on Sunday 1 October. This is your opportunity to pick up a meaningful souvenir of your CelticFest experience or purchase a gift or two for friends or family. Let’s face it, whose life wouldn’t be improved with the addition of a little tartan?
If you’re of Celtic ancestry and want to explore your family tree, the clans and genealogists will gather at CelticFest to help you do just that.
The CelticFest committee is delighted to announce that local and regional businesses have stepped up to support the event and is grateful to the following for their sponsorship: John Dee, Specsavers Warwick Rose City, McDonald’s, Carey Brothers Abbatoir, Warwick Sandstone, Warwick Credit Union, Proterra Group, Warrego Water Services, Warwick Solar Panels, Wickham Freight Lines, Killarney Co-operative, Harvey Norman, Condamine Sports Club, Bellingham & Co., Frasers Livestock Transport, James Lister MP and The Point Brisbane Hotel.
In addition to the main Saturday event, CelticFringe events will be held between Friday 29 September and Monday 2 October. Some of these events will be free, and some will have their own ticketing.
A CelticFringe highlight will be the Inaugural Australian Juvenile Pipe Band Championships and the prestigious biennial Australian Solo Championships, both hosted by SCOTS PGC College, which will be held on Friday 29 September and Saturday 30 September. Pipers, drummers and school-based bands will travel from around Australia to Warwick for these events, which will culminate in a stirring massed bands performance on the Saturday afternoon at around 4pm.
Other CelticFringe events include a feature-length performance by Australian Celtic Women at Club Warwick RSL, Downs Explorer heritage train trips to Clifton, Celtic-themed workshops (bucket-list Gaelic, music, and line dancing) at the Club Warwick RSL, a Celtic art workshop hosted by the Warwick Artists Group at The Art Hub, tours of The Abbey and Glengallan Homestead (including a paranormal tour), and Auld Alliance performing at The Dairy Lounge.
There’s also a Warwick CBD town walk with Bob the Bellman of Renown, Town Crier of the Southern Downs, and Haggis the Piper; open-house at Warwick Masonic Lodge, a Celtic-style parkrun (including a kilted dash), buskers Wes McGuinness and Dublin Dan performing outside The Cherry Tree Coffee and Dining and The Little Gallery Café, and yoga in the heart of Celtic country at Queen Mary Falls, near Killarney.
CelticFest is supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland and features on the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar.
CelticFest received funding from SDRC’s Community Grants funding and the Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF), a partnership between the Queensland Government and Southern Downs Regional Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.
For more information about CelticFest and CelticFringe, please visit the CelticFest website at www.celticfestqld.com.au and follow CelticFest on Facebook and Instagram.
