Situated on the shores of Ramsey Lake, the Grace Hartman Amphitheater at Bell Park, Sudbury, Canada will host Greater Sudbury Celtic Festival and Highland Games on Saturday 24th. Census data from 2006 shows there are 60,000 people with ties to the British Isles living in Sudbury, so there should be a strong audience for the festival, Derek Young, festival director said.

It just seems like this year, the timing is right to bring this sort of cultural event to the city. There seems to be a real need for this in the community …. Baby boomers, they’re getting older and rock concerts don’t turn them on any more. I think there is going to be a broad appeal to young and old, as well as, expatriates going elsewhere to find it.

The highland games have a 145-year history in Canada, the first taking place in Antigonish, N.S. [Source]

On Saturday, May 24, 2008, the community of Greater Sudbury will come together at the home of lumber baron William J. Bell to celebrate our cultural heritage and beginnings in a unique intercultural event entitled the “Greater Sudbury Celtic Festival and Highland Games” The Francophones, English, Scottish and Irish communities represent the largest ethnic groups in our city and they have all shaped our history in creating the freedom for us to enjoy the community we call home in this the year that we celebrate Greater Sudbury’s 125th Anniversary.

The festival will include many events such as the Celtic Pavilion with food and folklore, Scottish Heavy Games, the Massed Pipes and Drums, Dancers, and an evening concert with Sudbury’s own Duncan Cameron returning home with his band Fig for A Kiss.

Advance festival day passes are $8.50 for adults and are on sale now at the Sudbury Arena Box Office, online at www.greatersudbury.ca, or charge by phone at 671-3000. Tickets will be sold at the door, $10 for adults and $2 for children 12 and under. Note: Festival Day Pass does not include activities on May 23 at Peddler’s Pub. [Source]

Write-up in the Sudbury Star here, and the Festival website here.

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