Welcome to Big Stone Celtic!

September 22, 2012

A celebration of the traditions of the Celtic Nations ~
music, song, stories, food, crafts and dance.

Big Stone Celtic 2012 – Saturday September 22^nd

Big Stone Celtic 2011 was a huge success again and many thanks are due everyone who contributed. We got rave reviews on the new features, including a sacred Celtic music concert and a number of workshops. The MEOC bus rotating continuously round the venues drew appreciative comment; several people commented they wouldn’t have been able to see everything had it not been for the $1 all-day rides.  

We had a lot of positive feedback on the many additions. Town residents loved the a festival celebrating the Celtic roots of this area now appeared on the local event calendar. Visitors came from as far away as Alabama, and were charmed by the town, its surroundings and its people. (They also shopped the local merchants, always a happy thing!) 

As a result of the feedback we will be making a few changes for 2012. We have decided to move from August to September as the weather will be cooler and more settled then. Barbara Polly and her board have generously offered the June Tolliver Theater for our main-stage next year and the Crescent in front as the set-up for vendors and British car display. That will give us a number of opportunities. Since the drama doesn’t take place in September we will be able to hold an extra evening concert.  

The dance and Celtic kitchen will still be held at the Presbyterian Church, and town merchants are encouraged to set up sidewalk displays outside their shops. The library and Baptist church have offered themselves again for the children’s and sacred events, respectively. We hope to add a coal mining connection, further celebrating the connections between Old World and New.  

The bike race that started this year’s festival was sponsored by Lonesome Pine Regional Hospital, and honored the memory of Bill Collie. This drew 35+ participants, and much acclaim from observers. It will be a feature of next year’s festival as well. 

2012 will also see a Flyting of the Bards competition, or what’s known around here as a Battle of the Bands. We are inviting five bands that aren’t traditionally considered Celtic to submit their version of two Celtic songs; this can be interpreted as a song performed in a Celtic style, or a Celtic song done their way. Bands must be at least two people. Entry is $25, and all entrants will perform their two songs on the main stage (set-up will need to be swift and shared). The winner by audience acclaim will be hired for the 2013 festival. If you are in a band, or know someone who is, please pass the word along. We keep festival costs down by relying on word of mouth advertising, so your friends may not hear of the contest if you don’t tell them. 

The Celtic Kitchen, one of our main methods for ensuring this festival funds itself each year, always needs help. You can donate food, or serve on the day. And we could still use people to stage manage Bullitt Park with its sheepdog demonstrations and games.

Check out Photographs from our 2011 Festival HERE!

BIG STONE CELTIC STEERING COMMITTEE
Paxton Allgyer
Jack Beck
Darinda Hood
Gary Johnson
Mily Lusk
Tony Palubicki
Randy Stanley
Wendy Welch