Come Celebrate: 5th Annual FM Area Celtic Festival

There has to be more to St. Patrick’s Day weekend than drinking, doesn’t there? For the last five years the answer, at least in the FM area, is a definite yes. Come Saturday, March 15th, a celebration of Celtic history will engulf the Hjemkomst Center, The festival will celebrate seven Celtic nations. The nations represented at the festival will be Brittany, Cornwall, Isle of Man, Galicia, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

Drawing nearly two thousand people last year, the growing festival contains a very diverse celebration of Celtic arts and traditions. Among the entertainment will be an assortment of local and regional Celtic music ranging from musical artist Ross Sutter out of Minneapolis, to the Ogg Creek String Band located right here in the FM area.

Along with the music will be several presentations on Celtic folklore, including two local boys, Les Bakke and Ben Smith. And if for some reason the music and presentations aren’t for you this year, there will also be some traditional Celtic dancing and some authentic Celtic cooking as well.

Check out the assortment of informative booths located throughout the festival grounds. The booths will be highlighting some hands-on activities and also some of the Celtic organizations in the FM area.

An interesting new group joining the celebration this year is the FMILA. Short for the Fargo-Moorhead Irish Language Association, the FMILA hopes to bring Irish language to a community where, according to Jessica Wagner, Founding Member of the group, “a community where many don’t know an (Irish) language exists.” Since the early fall of 07’ the group has been meeting every other Monday at 7pm, in the Minard building on the NDSU campus, room 315, and continues to do so. If interested, the FMILA will have a booth set up at this year’s festival. The group is free to join and will be handing out pamphlets and doing readings of Irish children’s stories in their traditional Irish language throughout the day.

One great thing about the Celtic festival is its openness. The festival tries not only to celebrate its past and present, but also to inform the entire community about important lost traditions. And no worries if you fail to hail from any of the Celtic nations. You are welcome to walk around and check out this once-a-year celebration, and admission is free.

If You Go:

WHAT: FM Area Celtic Festival
WHERE: Hjemkomst Center, Moorhead
WHEN: Saturday, March 15, 10am-4pm
HOW MUCH: Free of charge
INFO: www.fargoparks.com/se_celticfest.html