CelticFest organisers are pleased to announce that Early Bird tickets are now available for the CelticFest Gathering, the festival’s main ticketed event to be held on Saturday 26 March 2022 at the Warwick Showgrounds. For the very reasonable price of $15 for adults and $5 for school age children, festival-goers will be able to immerse themselves in a full day of events to celebrate all things Celtic, including highland games heavy events, pipe band competition, Irish dancing, highland dancing competition, clan gathering, Celtic choir, medieval village, Celtic-themed markets, and music from bands such as Limerick. In the evening, Irish band The Gathering will get everyone up on their feet and dancing. CelticFest Gathering tickets are available at www.eventbrite.com.au.
A celebration of the Southern Downs’ rich Scottish and Irish heritage
CelticFest is a celebration of the Southern Downs’ rich Scottish and Irish heritage and continues on from the Warwick Caledonian Society’s 150th Anniversary celebrations in March 2021.
“Those who attended the 150th celebrations in March 2021 will have some idea of what to expect,” said Alexander Manfield, the Society’s chieftain. “From medieval re-enactments to marching bands, from highland games to highland dancing, from pipe bands to Celtic rock bands, from highland coos (cows) to haggis, it will be like the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo right here in Warwick.” The Warwick business community will also experience the benefits of CelticFest, with accommodation providers already receiving bookings for the event, Manfield added. “The Warwick Showgrounds is going to transform into a sea of tartan, armour, music, dance and traditional food,” he said. “This is going to be a brilliant festival.”
CelticFest organisers are also delighted to announce that Warwick Sandstone, Warwick Friendly Society, Proterra and Ironside Industry have committed to providing sponsorship for CelticFest. “It is our pleasure to be able to contribute towards an exciting new festival, CelticFest – another reason to put our great town of Warwick on the must-visit map,” said Jill Bockman, from Warwick Sandstone. “Warwick Sandstone wishes the CelticFest planning committee good luck for an exciting and great outcome.”
Celtic-themed events
In addition to the main Saturday event, CelticFest Community events will be held on Friday 25 March and Sunday 27 March. Some of these events will be free, and some will have their own ticketing. The CelticFest Community events will be held across many of the towns and villages in the region including Warwick, Killarney, Allora and Clifton, and will celebrate the area’s Celtic heritage, music, art, dance and natural beauty including workshops, performances and tours.
Club Warwick RSL, a key CelticFest supporter, will host toe tappin’ Irish band Limerick (the Saturday after St Patrick’s) Day, and is planning other Celtic-themed events leading up to CelticFest. Southern Downs Steam Railway will offer a trip to Clifton on Sunday 27th March, which will include lunch at O’Shanley’s Irish Bar and Restaurant. The Warwick Art Gallery is holding a Celtic-themed art exhibition, titled ‘Cruthaich’ (Gaelic for ‘create’) between March 3-April 19, 2022, for which it is currently inviting submissions from artists; submissions close 11 February 2022.
Meanwhile Scots PGC College will run a Pipe Band competition, also on Sunday 27th March, and Glengallan Homestead and Warwick’s Pringle Cottage will host roaming pipers while celebrating the region’s history. Warwick Parkrun will host a Scottish-themed parkrun on the morning of Saturday 26th, and is inviting those in town for CelticFest to get their tartan on for a running start to the event. This is just a taste of what CelticFest visitors can expect from what is sure to be an event that will have something to suit everyone’s interest. CelticFest is assisted by the Local Event Funding Program (LEFP), which is a temporary funding program facilitated by Southern Downs Regional Council and jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments as a component of the 2019 Queensland Bushfires Community Recovery Package under Category C of the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.
Information about CelticFest and the CelticFest Community events will be placed on the CelticFest website at www.celticfestqld.com.au, and also on the CelticFest Warwick Facebook page as they are confirmed.