Celtic Festival moves to Gallup Catholic High School
Celebration begins Friday

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff Writer

GALLUP — The Seventh Annual Celtic Festival of the Arts and Spirituality will be held Friday and Saturday in the Gallup Catholic High School gymnasium. This is a new location for the festival, which is having to relocate from the First United Methodist Church due to remodeling work.

"Hearth and Home" is the theme for the two day festival. The hearth has been the focal point of family life since the discovery of fire. This theme will be celebrated during the festival through song, dance, poetry, drama, storytelling, and food. Sister Joan Brown, a guest presenter to this year's festival, will speak on the importance of hearth and home, family and community in the Celtic tradition, and what it means for us today.

Admission to the festival is free. However, Celtic food, arts and crafts, books, and other gift items will be available for sale, and workshops will be offered for a modest fee. Proceeds from this year's festival will support the work of local charitable causes and Heifer Project International in its efforts to help tsunami victims rebuild their livelihoods.

On Friday evening the festival will run from 6:30-9 p.m. Vendors of Celtic arts and crafts, history and spirituality books, and a silent auction will be available then and throughout the event. The Little Celts Corner, free child care for infants and children up to age 10, will also be available during the festival.

Friday evening's activities will include the traditional reading of excerpts from St. Patrick's Breastplate, read by Patrick Moore, and excerpts from the Navajo Blessing Way prayer, read by Sunny Dooley. (For a complete schedule of Friday and Saturday's events, please see related story.) The similarities in language and spirit of these two blessings is particularly striking.

Michelle Moore will lead festival goers in Celtic hymns, with the assistance of Cathy Hollister on the Celtic harp, Lindsay Mapes on the flute, and soloists Cathy McCarthy and Michele Forlines. Sister Joan's reflective presentation on the hearth will follow at 7:30 p.m. A storytelling session will close the evening.

On Saturday the festival will run from 9 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. The morning will be filled with a variety of presentations and workshops. All of the workshops have a three dollar fee except for a Uncial (Celtic lettering) Calligraphy workshop, which has a $20 fee. Some workshops are open to young children, others are only open to older children and adults. Space in the workshops is limited, so participants are encouraged to preregister.

At 9 a.m. Sister Joan will continue her discussion on the theme of"Hearth"from Friday evening and will talk about the various Celtic saints who are a patron or patroness of various "domestic arts." She will also direct a guided meditation.

At noon the festival day begins. A variety of foods will be available for purchase: Celtic tacos, a Ploughman's Lunch of bread and cheese, Irish potato soup, pasties, and a variety of scones and desserts. A corned beef and cabbage dinner will be served from 5-7 p.m.

More workshops will be offered in the afternoon, performances of Celtic music and dance will presented, and a couple of Celtic saints will "visit" the festival to speak of their significance in Christian history.

Musical performers scheduled to perform include Gallup's own Celtic band, The Desert Highlanders; Awel y Ddraig - The Dragon's Breath - a Welsh singing group from Albuquerque; Gerry Carthy of Santa Fe, but formerly of County Mayo, Ireland; and Norman and Ryntha Hughes from Denver.

Vendors for this year's festival include Barb's Creations & Sarah's Soaps, Celtic Notes and Buckles, Coyote Stories.com, Festival Books & Gifts and Baked Goods, Seamair Collections, Navajo Celtic Jewelry/Antique Bottle Lamps, Rocky Ridge Goat Dairy Lotions, Bally Dun Celtic Treasures, Stewards of Creation Chocolates, Wordsmyth Books and Jewelry, Welsh Dolls & Linens.

For more information about the Celtic Festival, workshop offerings, or how you can help volunteer, contact Betsy at 722-9257, Allison at 722-5411, or Martin at 863-6459.