By LINDA MCCARTHY
The Garden City hosts the fourth annual Celtic Festival of Missoula July 26-28 in Caras Park in the heart of Downtown Missoula. Organized and produced by the Montana Diva Foundation, the Celtic Festival assists the foundation in finding resources for women who want to coordinate, facilitate and enhance their charitable giving in the State of Montana.
The Young Dubliners Rocked the House for the 2012 Celtic Festival
The admission-free Celtic Festival opens Friday at 5:30 pm with the Consul General of Ireland and will showcase exceptional music by Hanz Araki & Kathryn Claire, the Langers Ball, and Screaming Orphans.
Saturday’s activities open at high noon and feature two performance stages throughout the day until 10 pm, including the Missoula Irish Dancers, Malarkey, the Fighting Jamesons and Missoula’s own Celtic Dragon Pipe Band.
Saturday will also highlight children’s activities from 12-6 pm including Irish Dance lessons, storytelling, Celtic Donkeys and contests for children with freckles and/or red hair. Other activities include Road Bowling near Florence, Montana and an Irish Hurling Clinic and Exhibition Game on Sunday.
Schedule of Events
Friday July 26th – Caras Park
- 5:30 PM Opening Ceremony – Consul General of Ireland, Gerry Staunton Cletic Dragon Pipe Band
- 5:45 PM Hanz Araki & Kathryn Claire
- 7:00 PM The langers Ball
- 9:00 PM The Screaming Orphans
Saturday July 27th – Caras Park
Rangitsch Brothers Stage
- 12:00 PM Tra le Gael
- 1:00 PM Missoula Irish Dancers
- 1:45 PM Malarkey
- 3:15 PM Hanz Araki & Kathryn Claire
- 5:30 PM The Gothard Sisters
- 7:45 PM The Celtic Dragon Pipe Band
KrisCo Liquor Stage
- 2:30 PM The Gothard Sisters
- 4:00 PM The Langers Ball
- 6:15 The Screaming Orphans
- 8:30 The Fighting Jamesons
DIRECTV KID ZONE – Saturday July 27th
12:00 pm – 6:00 pm This year we are proud to have DIRECTV sponsor the Kid Zone and promoting the All Abilities Playground. Look for the shaded area under the tent high atop the hill to the south of the main Caras Park Pavillion. The Kid Zone will provide arts and crafts, face painting, building hand-made coracles, red hair contest, a freckle contest, and an appearance by Monte in a kilt. A fun and safe time for kids, supervised by the folks from Missoula’s “The Children’s Center.”
12:00 pm Open- 12:30 pm Register for Red Hair and Freckle Contests
- 1:00 – 1:15 pm Red Hair Contest
- 1:15 – 1:30 pm Freckle Contest
- 2:00 – 2:20 pm Irish Dance Lessons
- 2:30 – 3:30 pm Irish Story Hour
- 4:00 – 4:45 pm Monte
- 5:00 – 5:20 pm Irish Dance Lessons
All Day Activities – Craft stations, face painting, All Abilities Playground learning station, hand-made coracles, games, prizes and fun all day!
Road Bowling – Saturday July 27th
- 9:00 am – 12:00 pm Irish Road Bowling. Near Florence, Montana on the walking trail. Register for your starting time here.
Cascade Hurling League – Sunday July 28th
- 10:00 am Members of the Cascade Hurling League will give a Clinic on the Irish Sport of Hurling.
- 11:00 am Cascade Hurling League Exhibition game. John H Toole Riverfront Park–Riverbowl.
For more information, visit the Celtic Festival Missoula Website.
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Linda McCarthy has been a Missoula resident for more than 25 years and serves as Executive Director of the Missoula Downtown Association, a private non-profit, membership-based organization dedicated to promoting, supporting and enhancing the vitality of Downtown Missoula. She and her family live in the Farviews Neighborhood, and her husband, Tom Gallagher, is a computer science professor at UM’s Missoula College. Linda holds two degrees from The University of Montana and was the 2008 Montana Alumni of the Year.
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