The things you'll eat, see, hear at this year's Tucson Celtic Festival
The Catalina Foothills give way to the Scottish Highlands this weekend as the 32nd annual Tucson Celtic Festival gets underway at Rillito Raceway Park, 4502 N. First Ave.
The popular event, running Friday-Sunday, celebrates Celtic history through food, music, dancing and drink. Its family friendly atmosphere means the kiddos can come too.
The main festivities run from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday with a Pirate's Pub happening on Friday night, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Admission for Saturday and Sunday is $16 per day general admission with discounts available.
Here is what you can expect.
The Scottish Highland Games
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Jeni McDaniel tosses the light hammer, which weights about 12 pounds, part of the highland games during the Tucson Celtic Fest, at Rillito Park.
Strength is key during the Scottish Highland Games, a competition interwoven with the Celtic Festival that features competitors from around the country tossing hammers, stones and other heavy objects, all while wearing kilts.
Tucson's own training group, the Celtic Hammerheads, is playing host.
Homegrown Irish stepdancing
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Grace Potter, 12, performs an Irish dance as a crowd gathers during the 27th Annual Tucson Celtic Festival and Scottish Highland Games.
Local troupes steeped in the traditions of Irish stepdancing are slated to perform the Welcome Stage at this year's Celtic Festival. Among the performers: The Saguaro Stompers, Celtic Steps, Maguire School of Irish Dance and 7 Pipers Scottish Society.
Bagpipes and drums...lots of them
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Pipers Joann Gentry center, and Neil Flint, right of the Tucson& District Pipe Band in 2013.
The shrill call of the bagpipe can be an acquired taste, but fans of the traditional sound will hear plenty of them at this year's festival.
The Tucson & District Pipe band is returning to the fest for another year, and will be performing at different times throughout the weekend.
Heaps of energetic music
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Jeff Sullivan, right, and Mike Liebbe, left, bang out some Irish Rock during the 27th Annual Tucson Celtic Festival and Scottish Highland Games.
Beyond the bagpipes, you'll find a healthy selection of local, regional and national Celtic-flavored bands playing the festival, including Tucson's own Out of Kilters and Welsh-American musician, John Good.
This year's headlining band is Celtica Pipes Rock, a group with more than 4 million views on its YouTube channel, an international touring schedule and a music video that was filmed at Old Tucson in 2017.
Celtica plays Saturday at 7:20 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.
A Pirate Pub Night
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Kick the festivities off a day early with a visit to the festival's Pirate Pub Night, also at the Rillito.
The evening, running from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, will include live music from the Phoenix-based Celtic rock band Cockswain and "Best legs in a kilt" competitions for both men and women.
Admission is $5. Proceeds from the evening benefit the Parkinson's Wellness Recovery Gym.
Celtic goods
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The Celtic festival's market area is the perfect place if you are looking for:
• The history of your family's surname.
• Kilts in different patterns and designs.
• Leather goods with Celtic knots etched into them.
More than 35 vendors will be on-hand to sell their themed wares.
Think Renaissance Faire, with a Scottish twist.
Haggis! (and other cuisine)
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Hungry souls can venture to the festival's food area for the ultimate in Celtic cuisine: Shepherd's pie, bangers and mash, fish and chips, and, of course, haggis, the national dish of Scotland.
Food is not included in the price of admission, so bring some extra cash if you are feeling famished.
