Pic: Tucson Celtic Festival

Celebrate the history and culture of Scotland, Ireland and Wales just as it’s been done for centuries… with lots of great music, dancing, food, athletic events and way too much fun! Enjoy great Entertainers all day long, massed Bagpipe Bands, great Food, unique Celtic Merchants, Scottish Clans, Heritage & Cultural Booths, Historic Re-enactments, Highland Athletics & more. Stop by the Dance Stage for Irish & Scottish dance performances. You can even join in for a workshop! Cheer on your favorites in the Celtic Music, Highland Dance and Solo Bagpipe Competitions! There are games, crafts, jumping castles, storytelling, a petting zoo and even a Junior Highland Games Athletics for the kids! New to the Festival this year is the life-sized Board Game, Quest of the Castle Keep, in the Urchins’ Corner. Did we mention Sheepherding demonstrations?

So says the website of the 2008 Tucson Celtic Festival which starts tonight and lasts all weekend. I’m definitely up for the Urchins’ Corner

The Arizona Republic reports that one by one, clan members will step into the flickering torchlight at Rillito Raceway Park in Tucson this evening, announce their presence to the chief and give their clan’s blood-stirring war cry.

The Clan Torchlight Ceremony kicks off the 22nd annual Tucson Celtic Festival and Scottish Highland Games, a three-day celebration of all things Celtic – dancing, music and athletic contests aplenty.

It’s a very lively, fun, active festival.

says Asherah Caldwell, president of the Tucson Celtic Festival Association, which organizes the event.

The torchlight ceremony is the festival’s signature event, honoring many of those in attendance. Caldwell says:

We’re fortunate here in Tucson that we have an actual Scottish clan chief in residence. He’s one of only three in all of North America.

The chief, James McBain of McBain, will officiate at the ceremony. After a brief speech, “the McBain,” as he is called, will send his son off into the darkness with a charge to gather the clans, who, dressed in their tartans and kilts, then march into the chief’s presence.

The traditional Scottish Highland athletic competitions, which emphasize strength and coordination, are popular among spectators, partly because of unusual events, such as the caber toss, hammer throw and sheaf toss.

Community members can test their strength with the Braemar-stone competition, heaving a heavy rock, similar to a shot put, as far as possible.

Other attractions include Celtic heritage and culture booths, historical re-enactments and sheep-herding demonstrations.

Children can participate in the Youth Athletic Games or take part in a life-size board game called the Quest of the Castle Keep, during which they may perform such activities as snatching gold coins from a leprechaun’s pot, sneaking through a witch’s hut and passing through a dragon’s lair.

More details can be found at the Arizona Republic and the Tucson Celtic Festival website.

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