Celtic Culture

Closer Look gets a glimpse of the 13th Annual Chicago Celtic Fest.

Approaching Jackson and Columbus Avenues this past weekend, ears rattled with the drone of bagpipes, nostrils filled with the scent of hearty shepherd's pie and toes tapped to the beat of a traditional jig. No, St. Patrick's Day did not come six months early this year.  It was the 13th Annual Chicago Celtic Fest taking over Grant Park. 

A drummer waits for his bagpipe band's performance at the Chicago Celtic Fest. Photo by Chase Difeliciantonio.

Every year since 1997, the Celtic Fest has served to celebrate and educate the public on Celtic culture. Last year, eight inches of rain inundated the festival, causing events to be canceled.  But this year Mother Nature complied, giving Chicago a warm, sunny weekend and allowing "good craic," (the Irish term for fun) to be had by all.

The Celtic Fest celebrates the cultures of the modern Celtic nations in the Celtic League (a political and cultural organization) — Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man.  The League was well-represented this weekend with food, shops and more than 100 free music and dance performances.

At an event where even the Port-O-Lets are kelly green, the Irish culture certainly had a home. Irish brogues mingled with Midwestern twangs as the two cultures united. 

The Rebecca McCarthy School of Dance was one of many Irish step-dancing groups that performed at the festival.  This young group, with its members ranging from ages seven to 17, hopped and kicked their way through several jigs. But the Irish are not the only participants in the Celtic Fest. "More Irish turn out, there are more Irish bands on the schedule, but we aren't an Irish festival," Erin Bauer, the festival manager, said in a September 11, 2009 Chicago Sun-Times article. The other Celtic countries held their own and represented their cultures as well. The Chicago Tafia Welsh Society lured people to learn about Welsh culture with pictures of Catherine Zeta-Jones and offering chances to win a vacation to Wales.  "Just don't tell me mum I'm giving plane tickets away," said the colorful Welshman working the tent. "I just told her I couldn't go visit because I couldn't afford one meself!"

Scotland showed off its muscles with the Scottish Heavy Athletics Competition.  This event, featuring hammer and stone throwing, and weight throwing for distance and height, lasted both Saturday and Sunday. Though Celtic Fest-goers were encouraged to watch, the athletes advised them not to try these strenuous activities at home for fear of hernias.
Just a stone's throw away from the Heavy Athletics, one could see huddles of men jokingly doing calf raises in preparation for the fourth annual Men in Kilts Leg Contest.  Over 40 kilted men joined in and unabashedly flashed a little kneecap in hopes of winning the grand prize, two airline tickets to anywhere in the U.S.

And if any participants forgot their traditional Celtic apparel, the Kommando Kilts shop sold quality kilts, complete with appropriate accoutrements.  Shoppers could browse through a sea of plaid and find belts, sporrans (fur pouches), and Gillies, (a type of Scottish leather shoe) to complete the perfect ensemble. Whether it was because of its casual kilts or because its name alluded to what men choose to wear — or not wear —  under them, Kommando Kilts seemed to be constantly bustling.

The last big event of the festival was a free concert by Gaelic Storm at the Petrillo Music Shell on Sunday night. The band, which has a song featured on the Titanic soundtrack, drew a large and rowdy crowd.  With Bono and the boys playing across the park at Soldier Field, Gaelic Storm used their humor to compete.  "We are officially the band with the longest spoon solo in a song," boasted the band's lead singer, Patrick Murphy. "Take that, U2!" 

Everyone knew the Celtic weekend was over when the Guinness stopped flowing at 9:15 p.m. on Sunday.  The crowd reluctantly shuffled home, or at least to the nearest pub. Though their kilts may be stowed, Celtic culture fans await next September, with the sweet hum of bagpipes still ringing in their ears.

Originally published in the Loyola Phoenix on September 22, 2009.  Link here.