Irish and Scottish eyes will have plenty to smile about at the Celtic Festival
Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
editor@qctonline.com
St. Patrick’s and St. Andrew’s days may still be many months away, but as longtime Quebec City residents will know, there’s no need to wait that long to enjoy Celtic music and culture in their hometown. The Quebec Celtic Festival returns to the Domaine de Maizerets for an 18th edition Sept. 6-8.
The festival features local Irish bands, Scottish pipe-and- drum corps including the 78th Fraser Highlanders and Irish dance ensembles including the Shannon Irish Dancers. Sports fans will find plenty to enjoy, with the now-traditional Canadian women’s Highland Games championship, an elite men’s Highland Games competition and Gaelic football demonstrations by Les Patriotes de Québec.
The Clans’ Pavilion, reconstituted Viking encampment and a series of historical talks on topics ranging from warfare to skincare practices will delight history and genealogy buffs, and the Mythological Garden will enchant young children. The festival will also feature a Celtic-themed pub quiz night at Pub Galway on Avenue Cartier on Sept. 6 and a Soirée grivoise – a more casual version of the “Celtic feast” of past years – on Sept. 7.
“We’ll have all the classics,” said festival cofounder and board chair Guy Morisset. “We wanted to democratize the feast, make it more accessible and attract a different group of people.” For people who have other plans Saturday night or can’t get a ticket to the feast in time, the site still features food trucks and a beer tent with live entertainment. Local bands including Irish Tree, harp duo La Belle et la Barde, sea shanty crew Steamship Alice and Scandinavian-tinged neo-trad ensemble Nordri will perform. No featured show at the Agora du Vieux-Port is planned for this year, but next year’s show is already in development, Morisset said.
The Highland Games are also expected to draw a crowd. “We’re putting together an interesting calibre of athletes, especially in the women’s division, for something that is not always thought of as a feminine thing,” said Morisset. Following in the footsteps of similarly sized events, the festival has put in place a paid VIP area on the Highland Games bleachers – most seats have already been bought up by one competitor’s work colleagues.
Morisset said he is committed to keeping the festival financially accessible for all despite funding challenges for cultural events. “A lot of festivals like ours depend on public grants, which don’t come in until very late, and that creates a lot of stress. We find that a bit sad, because we want to keep prices low.”
Another constant challenge for the festival has been find- ing volunteers. “Finding volunteers has been a lot harder since the pandemic … we try to take good care of volunteers and make sure they have fun too.”
Morisset said he is looking forward to “feeling the vibes,” working with volunteers and celebrating the biggest francophone Celtic festival in North America. “I’m always so excited year after year just to watch people enjoy it,” he said.
To see the full program, to reserve your spot at the pub quiz or Soirée grivoise or to volunteer, visit festival-celtique.com/en.