Saline Celtic Festival Saline Celtic Festival to mark 15th year rawing people to the area for food, fun and fine fare, 2010 marks the 15th annual Celtic Festival taking place July 16 and 17 at Mill Pond Park. The Saline festival began as a result of the sister-city relationship between Saline and Brecon, Wales. The festival is an entirely volunteer organization. The group meets monthly 7:30 p.m. on the third Thursday at City Hall. Although the festival began as a one-day event, it has grown to include many days and evenings. The 2010 Celtic Festival is focusing on the family. Special $5 pricing for children 13 to 17 years and $10 for seniors, as well as lower $10 advance ticket prices, will make attending the festival feasible for the entire family. The festival officially opens Friday evening with Pub in the Park, an evening is full of music, food, drink and entertainment. This year, the group brings hard-driving Celtic music. Other events will be going on at the festival grounds, such as highland athletics demonstrations, historic entertainers and much more. Workshops in a variety of Celtic musical instruments taught by professionals who will be performing at the Saturday festival are popular. Workshop fees and details will be announced later. The Celtic Parade begins 10 a.m. Saturday at Saline Middle School and proceeds to Mill Pond Park, where opening ceremonies will be held at 11 a.m. The festival will be held from 10 a.m. to midnight Saturday. The athletic event has changed this year. The festival will have a rugby tournament hosted by the Detroit Rugby Club, a four-team tour-
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Saline Celtic Festival Saline Celtic Festival Office City Hall 100 N. Harris St. Telephone: 944-2810 Web site: www.saline celtic.org July 16-17
nament, plus a local amateur game and a women’s match hosted by the Detroit Rugby women’s team. Heavy Highland Athletics will be demonstrated and will have audience participation. The festival will also see the return of the popular knights jousting event. As always, the festival will feature all-day musical entertainment, cultural demonstrations, dancers, pipe bands, highland dance competitions sheep-herding dogs, as well as special entertainment for the children. New this year will be a demonstration of spinning the wool and making of the tartan for the great kilt. There also will be a variety of Celtic goods for sale. Area residents are invited to become part of the festival organization. Many opportunities are available from helping set up and take down the event to working on venues. Come to a meeting or contact Mary Nehls-Frumkin at 669-8845.
Celtic Festival Restaurant and Music Line-up he musical lineup for the 2010 Saline Celtic Festival includes these dynamic acts:
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An Dro www.andromusic.com Based in Grand Rapids, An Dro performs traditional acoustic music with a creative twist. The band’s sound is built on a foundation of tunes and songs from many Celtic nations and its diverse range of musical styles is complemented by an equally diverse array of instruments –– fiddle, guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy, harp, doumbek, talking drum and vocals. Vishten www.vishten.net Made up of third generation Acadians, twin sisters Pastelle 12
and Emmanuelle LeBlanc from Prince Edward Island, Canada, have teamed up with Pascal Miousse and Louis-Charles Vigneau from the Magdelene Islands to create a sound that incorporates elements of new ways while retaining and staying true to the Acadian spirit of their roots. The sound is essentially Celtic, but with a difference. The songs are French, sung solo or in four-part harmony. The band members are accomplished multi-instrumentalists and step-dancers incorporating the fiddle, guitar, accordion, penny-whistle, banjo, mandolin, piano, jawharp and bodhran.
Brogue www.broguetheshow.com Brogue shines light on Scottish and Irish tradiContinued on Page 13