HomeMy WebLinkAboutGoderich Signal Star, 2011-08-17, Page 5Sar e• Wednesday, Augast fiat $1
h Annual Celtic Roots Festiva
Annual Celtic
bash usually
draws a
couple
thousand
visitors in
August
Min
the music to the
and ancient arts,.
ulture is strong in
ingthewrapofthe
c Roots Festival in
tival mom and pop
and Warren Robing
the August 5 to 7
ay have been the
ever.
Wrn'and
dui."�.
estival mom and
pop Eleanor and
n Robinson, last
eek. fol owing the
al dizzying celtic
odyssey.
warm and wonder -
ren said last week
g the annual dizzy -
odyssey.
s numbers go, 2011
n't be one for the
•oks,but the lure of
e has never failed.
mbers are tallied,
nsons say the head -
ay. not have topped
years but was con -
The annual Celtic
ally draws a couple
visitors in August,
year was no excep-
at was exceptional,
say, was the talent.
the festival shook
p and brought in a
ng" lineup of per -
something Warren
a hit.
e responded well to
d many said they
• freshness."
culture is a point of
oughout the prov=
evident from the
of fesdvais and cel-
s hosted annually.
Two of the largest --- the
Glengarry Highland Games,
which draws about 500,000
people to Maxvlile, Ont., and
the Scottish Festival and
Highland Games, which
attracts about 200,000 peo-
ple to Fergus, Ont. - were
joined this year by the inau-
gural Celtic celebration in
Peterbourough, which man-
aged to attract an Impressive
crowd as well. But numbers
aren't everything, notes the
Robinsons. While the Celtic
Roots Festival remains a
smaller scale in comparison,
the longstanding event con-
sistently attracts visitors
worldwide who say the inti-
mate atmosphere and we/l-
olled festival machine make
Goderich's one of the top in
North America.
"'this year everybody- vis-
itors, performers everyone
said they were blown away,"
Warren said August 11. "In
fact, one visitor said to us we
should come down and show
the folks at the Philadelphia
Folk Festival how to run an
event"
"The entertainment was
awesome, the closing fiddles
were stupendous, and we've
still got a handful of visitors
who come every year that tel
us [the Celtic Festival] is the
best weekend of their year.
That's about the highest
compliment you can get,"
Warren said.
"An the friendliness of t h e
town was 10 out of 10" Elea-
nor added.
As number 19 was tucked
away nicely last week, there
was a rumble of excitement
among festival goers and
organizers alike arising at the
thought of what's in store for
2012, when the Celtic Festi-
val celebrates it's 20th
season.
For their part, the Robin-
sons are keeping mum on
the details, but did let.sli
P
that there are three "particu-
larly exciting" projects
already y► in the works.
'We've got something kind
of spectacular coming up for
number 20, Warren said.
"We can't say much yet
because one requires per-
mission from the Town of
Goderich."
If you missed your chance
to grab some official Celtic
Festival swag over the festi-
val weekend, head to www.
celticfestival.ca where you
can now shop online.
wraps up in The Square
Dominique Milburn Goderich Signal -Star
The Celtic Roots Festival debuted a weeklong line up of music
and dancing on The Square in 2011 that showcased the talent of a
number of festival performers, college teachers, and local musicians.
On Thursday, August 4, the festival teamed up with the Goderich BIA's
Thursday concert series, when French fiddlers Pierre Schryer and
Martine Billette were joined by Goderich's John Lodge.