Celtic Congratulations

      The Greater Sudbury Celtic Festival and Highland Games made a strong debut in Bell Park on Saturday, May 24, attracting more than 1,500 visitors and participants from across Greater Sudbury and Ontario.

      For the first time all of our local pipe bands, Scottish and Irish Singers and dancers, performers, French Canadian fiddlers and step dancers, cloggers and athletes came together to celebrate Greater Sudbury during this intercultural festival. The Greater Sudbury Celtic Festival and Highland Games will return to Sudbury on May 22-24, 2009 in Bell Park.

      As the festival director, I would like to thank all the people and organizations that helped make this event a success. A very special thank you to Chieftain of the Games, Greater Sudbury Police Chief Ian Davidson for lending his name to the event, his leadership, expertise, and eloquently written humorous speech that frankly described the “Celts.”

      To all the participants, vendors, and volunteers we say thank you and we look forward to your participation next year. As a local event planner, I have had a steep learning curve and was very delighted to see the guests and participants enjoying this new cultural based festival and am looking forward to entertaining Sudburians with similar events. We promised a day of friends, fun, food and folklore and from the feedback received, we delivered. Thank you!

Derek Young
Festival Director, Sudbury