12TH ANNUAL ORMOND BEACH CELTIC FESTIVAL TO FILL THE AIR WITH MUSIC

Join us for our Spring Fling with a Highland Flair as the 12^th annual Ormond Beach Celtic Festival - returns to Rockefeller Gardens and Fortunato Park! Clans, pipers, and highland games athletes will gather on April 15 & 16, 2023 for two days of folk music, food and fun from the seven Celtic Nations and beyond.

The Festival occupies two downtown parks along the Halifax River and fills them with 5 music stages, a Highland Games, clans and Celtic societies from throughout the region as well as a host of other activities. Voted the Best Local Event in the News-Journal’s Readers’ Choice poll, the weekend attracts more than 10,000 locals and visitors each year. Advance tickets are $12 each day for adults or $15 at the gate. Children 12 and under are admitted free. Tickets are available online at buytickets.at/ormondbeachmainstreet.  There is plenty of free parking, including free off-site parking with a free shuttle service to allow everyone access to the Festival activities.

Seven Nations, the popular Celtic Rock band will headline both days of the event. Seven Nations began in New York City, with members now hailing from California, to Toronto, to Florida. Their passionate, tender, and rollicking style veers from roots and folk to dance and fusion-rock. Seven Nations has earned a reputation as an adventurous band with a charismatic stage presence. They are equally at home at giant festivals and intimate pubs and have toured worldwide.

Music will be everywhere as 22 musical groups and two Celtic dance troupes from throughout the region appear all weekend-long playing traditional Celtic and folk music. In addition to all the music on stage, the Festival’s two pipe bands, Rosy O’Grady’s Highlanders and the City of Mt. Dora Pipers, lead daily parades by all the attending Clans and fill the air with the sound of bagpipes.

Take a break and look for the Fletcher’s Irish “pop-up” Pub on the lawn where you can enjoy games, food and draft beer including Guinness, Harp and Killian’s. Stop by the jam tent with your fiddle, guitar, dulcimer or bodhrán and play along. Master teachers are available throughout the day and there are plenty of open jam sessions.

The Celtic Festival is a great family outing, with crafts and activities for the young ones both days, under the bridge in the Chiumento Law Kids Zone. Jump in the bouncy castle, get your face painted, play Celtic musical chairs & so much more! All family activities are FREE.

On Sunday, be sure to be there for our annual Dog Parade. If your dog is an Irish setter, a Welsh corgi or a Scottie dog – or you just want to dress your pup in plaid – bring them out for the fun. All breeds are welcome! Just bring a donation or food for Sophie’s Circle Dog Rescue and your dog will be entered in the parade. Register with our parade sponsor, NautiPets, or at the New World Celts booth in the Clan Area.

Fortunato Park, on the north side of the bridge, is home to the Saturday Highland Games and Sunday’s sheep herding and athletic demonstrations. Our Highland Games are sanctioned by the North American Scottish Games Athletics organization, so its competitors rack up points toward the ultimate goal of competing in Scotland. Male and female athletes from around the region are expected to attend the Games and demonstrate their strength by throwing the caber, the hammer or the stone put all day Saturday.

Don’t let the fun end there – join us at Fletcher’s Irish Pub at 393 W. Granada Blvd. on Friday evening for a kick-off party, where musicians and friends gather at 7PM. Return to Fletcher’s after Saturday’s festivities for a Ceilidh, with more music, more celebrating, and more fun.

If you’re more interested in traditional food than traditional sport, be on the lookout for vendors with meat pies, shortbread or fish and chips. Visit our Celtic vendors and food stalls. Relax with a pint of Guinness along the beautiful Halifax River. Get your own kilt. Throw an axe. Discover your inner Celt. Take home something beautiful. Experience the Ormond Beach Celtic Festival!

For more information, please contact [email protected]  . For updated music schedules visit www.OrmondBeachCelticFestival.com