Festivals
Part of the mission of Pint of Irish is to support other organizations and associations that promote interest and participation in Celtic culture, music, and dance. These Celtic Festivals are held yearly in California by groups with this same mission.
February
ScotsFestival & International Highland Games XXIV
February 17-18, 2018 (President's Day Weekend)
1126 Queens Highway
Long Beach, CA
(877) 342-0738
ScotsFestival honors nearly fifty Scottish clans & vendors throughout the weekend with professional and amateur competitions in piping, drumming, massed bands, darts, Highland dancing, and Highland athletics. Whisky tasting sessions with aged malt experts and craft beer samplings are available for adult festivalgoers while the wee laddies & lassies can bear witness to Queen Mary’s coronation, knighting ceremonies and even take part in the Wee Highland games.
March
38th Annual North County St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festival
Sunday, March 17, 2018
9 am - 6 pm
Balboa Park, San Diego, CA.
www.sandiego.org
Come experience the largest St. Patrick's Day Parade west of the Mississippi! Join the Irish Congress of Southern California for the 38th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade & Festival taking place on Saturday, March 17, 2018 from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM at Balboa Park between 6th Street and Laurel. Join more than 30,000 attendees in our annual celebration featuring a parade with over 125 entries, more than 75 food/craft booths, a beer garden, two band stages, and a Celtic village. The Kids Zone has a band stage featuring young performers and traditional Irish music, carnival rides and crafts.
April
24th Annual Kern County Scottish Gathering & Games
Saturday, April 6-7, 2019
Kern County Fairgrounds
1142 South P St.
Bakersfield, CA
Come on out and Get Yer Plaid On! This event gets bigger and better every year! This is a day of great fun, a day of tradition. A day that had something for everyone, Scottish or not. If you've never experienced the Games, come and see what brings people back year after year. It's a fun packed day that is filled with things to do: Scottish heavy athletics, genealogy, clans and family history, live music on multiple stages, sheepdog herding demos, dance shows, a large area just for children, a petting zoo and a multitude of really great food and merchandise vendors.
May
Irish Immersion Weekend
May 4-6, 2018
Westlake Village, CA
lagaeilge.wordpress.com
www.gaelicla.com
Hosted by Conradh na Gaeilge (The Gaelic League) Los Angeles. The Deireadh Seachtaine Gaeltachta is a weekend devoted to immersion in Irish language and culture. Teachers are flown in from Ireland and around the country. Join us for a fun-filled weekend of workshops in Irish language, music, art, sport, and dance. A céilí and a beach party are also planned. Food, instruction, and course materials are all included in the fees. For more information about this event please visit the Conradh na Gaeilge website at www.gaelicla.com.
Topanga Banjo & Fiddle Contest
May 20, 2018 9 am -6 pm
Paramount Ranch (Where Doctor Quinn Medicine Woman and many other shows were filmed)
Agoura Hills, CA
Since 1961, Southern California's Favorite Bluegrass, Old-Time and Folk Music Festival. Members of the Pint of Irish Ventura Slow Session will meet for jamming. Listen for Celtic music and keep an eye out for a Pint of Irish sign. They will be sitting in a shady spot under a tree.
Scottish Fest - Scottish Highland Games
May 26-27, 2018
Orange County Fair & Event Center
88 Fair Drive
Costa Mesa, CA
Scottish Fest is part of the United Scottish Society, a 501c(3) non-profit corporation. It is the oldest and largest festival of its kind in the Southern California area. The festival occurs annually on Memorial Day Weekend at the Orange County Fair and Event Center (OCFEC) located in Costa Mesa, California.
June
43rd Annual Big Irish Fair & Musicfest
June 9-10, 2018
The Great Park
6950 Marine Way, Irvine, CA 92618
The BIG Irish Fair has been viewed as a living Irish cultural center because it presents the very best in Irish music, song, dance and sport and is the largest Irish outdoor exhibition in the Western United States. From Sheep Herding shows to harp and fiddle competitions to ancient Irish displays and reenactments to Gaelic sports to the absolute best in new-age and traditional Irish entertainment - the BIG Irish Fair is the event to visit to learn, enjoy and share the very best in all things Irish.
Annual San Diego Scottish Highland Games & Gathering of the Clans
June 23-24, 2018 (4th weekend in June)
Brengle Terrace Park
1200 Vale Terrace Dr.
Vista, CA
Scottish Highland Games on Facebook
Events at the San Diego Scottish Highland Games & Gathering of Clans include Educational Seminars, Whiskey Tasting, Genealogy Seminars, Story Telling, Kid's Games, Bagpiping & Drumming Competitions, Highland Dancing, Drum Major Workshop and Inspection, Heavy Athletics (Braemar Stone Throw, Hammer Throw, Caber Toss), Sheep Dog Trials, Clan Meetings, and Scottish Country Dance Demonstrations.
September
153rd Annual Pleasanton Scottish Highland Gathering and Games
September 1-2, 2018 (8:00am-6:30pm)
Alameda County Fairgrounds
4501 Pleasanton Avenue
Pleasanton, CA
This year’s 153rd Games features Heavy Events Championships, the US Drum Major Championships, the Western U.S. Open Highland Dancing Championships and various grades of Pipe Band Competitions. Other competitive events include the Kilted Mile Race and Soccer, Shinty and Rugby competitions. Visitors to the Games can enjoy Scottish Country Dancers, the San Francisco Scottish Fiddlers and other traditional entertainment on the Celtic Heritage stages. Other events include Birds of Prey and Archery exhibitions, historical re-enactments, historic British cars and motorcycles, sheep dog trials, the Clan Glen and Children’s Glen, Clydesdale horses and Highland cattle. In addition, there is more entertainment in the Irish Pavilion, Traditional and Celtic Rock Bands on the Entertainment Stages and whiskey tasting and master classes with ‘Whiskey Live’. Finally, each day, the Games Grandstand Show features the ceremony, competition and entertainment of the Games including the hugely impressive March of the Massed Bands with over 600 pipers and drummers.
Fresno Highland Gathering and Games
September 15, 2018
Kearney Park
6725 W Kearney Blvd.
Fresno, CA
Visit Mary Queen of Scots, Living History Village, Merloch the Magician, Vendor Booths, and Clan Row. Watch the Massed Pipes Bands, March of Clans, large men and women throwing heavy stuff at the Scottish Athletics Games, and the Sheep Herding Exhibition. Enjoy Scotish food, drink, and Ale, listen to Scottish and Celtic Entertainers and have your kids participate in the Youth Athletic events.
October
Seaside Highland Games
October 13-14, 2018
Seaside Park, Ventura Fairgrounds
10 W. Harbor Blvd.
Ventura, CA 93001
(805) 648-3376
Events at the Seaside Highland Games include Massed Pipebands, Scottish Fiddling Competition, Scottish Entertainers, Clan Tents, Children's Glen, British Food, Highland Re-enactments, Dancing, and Dart Competition.
