Early bird adult weekend tickets are now available for CelticFest 2025, to be held in Warwick, the Celtic Capital of Queensland, at the Warwick Showgrounds on Saturday 4 October and Sunday 5 October. Available until sold out, the $50 early bird adult weekend tickets are the cheapest way to get to CelticFest, the largest Celtic festival in Queensland. Once they’re gone, they’re gone – don’t miss out, and make sure your family and friends don’t miss out either.
City visitors are encouraged to #GetTheirCountryCelticOn at this year’s event, with CelticFest celebrating the region’s rich Celtic heritage while also providing a taste of Queensland country. And with CelticFringe events on offer from Friday 3 October, CelticFest patrons will just have to stay the whole weekend to fully immerse themselves in the Celtic in the Country experience!
Celtic entertainment
The highly-anticipated ticketed CelticFest event, which in 2023 attracted over 10,000 attendances, will bring back favourites such as the Australian Highland Games Championships – caber toss, anyone? The Gathering Irish band, highland cows from Keans Agri Leyburn Highland Stud, the Medieval Arena, knights in single combat and pitched battles, pipe band and dancing displays, Irish dancing, Celtic-themed markets, Celtic animals, the gathering of the clans, Celtic-inspired bar and food – and much more!
There’ll also be camp-drafting and Australian Light Horse displays in the Main Arena, giving the event that real ‘Queensland country’ feel. CelticFest 2025 will run over two days, with a full program of music on the Main Stage on both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday night is CelticFest Party Night, with The Gathering Irish band headlining a night of foot-stomping, rock-on Celtic music on the Main Stage, and the Darling Downs Irish Club hosting a ceili (Celtic bush dance) in the Doug Feez Pavilion. Supporting acts and other program inclusions will be announced over the coming months.
CelticFest will also again host the Australian Highland Games Championships, and visitors can watch professional strongmen and women as they perform many feats of strength, including putting the stone, the farmer’s walk, and the perennially popular caber toss. The medieval village will be open for CelticFest attendees to stroll through, providing a window into a bygone era, including combat between knights of yore, graceful dancing displays of women through history, and the daily life of those who lived in feudal times. Visitors will also be able to watch displays from roaming entertainers – including pipe bands, the graceful Women in History and tribal belly-dancers – and highland dancers, marvel at the gloriously gentle Highland cows, wander through Celtic-themed markets, trace their genealogy, and feast on Celtic-themed food and drink.
CelticFringe
CelticFringe events return in 2025; these are events which are separately organised and ticketed (where applicable) by local businesses and community organisations and they will be held in a variety of venues in Warwick and around the Southern Downs. CelticFringe music events include Australian Celtic Women ‘craicing’ the CelticFest weekend open with a feature-length concert at the Club Warwick RSL on Friday 3 October, and CelticFest visitors can also #GetYourCountryCelticOn with Limerick MCB performing at the Sandy Creek Pub. Meanwhile Highlander Celtic Rock Band will give a rousing show at the closing CelticFest weekend concert on Sunday 5 October – also at Club Warwick RSL.
The Southern Downs Explorer Heritage train will run a tour to Clifton and Greenmount on Friday 3 October and, on a sporting note, Warwick parkrun will host a Celtic-themed parkrun on the banks of the Condamine River on Saturday 4 October – including a kilted dash! More CelticFringe events will be announced over the coming months.
Earlybird adult CelticFest weekend tickets are now available for $50 from the CelticFest website at https://www.celticfestqld.com.au/tickets, until sold out, after which online pricing applies. There is no senior or pensioner pricing, however children under 18 go free. A new ticket type this year is a separate CelticFest Party Night ticket for Saturday evening only; but CelticFest Party Night is also included in the Saturday and weekend tickets.
In addition, three-night campsite-only passes are available from the CelticFest website, priced at $90; all campers will also need to separately purchase CelticFest weekend tickets.
For more information, please follow the Festival on Facebook and Instagram at CelticFest Warwick, or visit: www.celticfestqld.com.au.