Celtic Fling returns to PA Ren Faire this weekend, with Irish music, food, Highland Games and more (2024)

Every year, Crystal Glick Carper looks forward to the Celtic Fling, held on the grounds best known for hosting the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire each year.

Carper, owner and director of the Hooley School of Irish Dance in Leola, will bring around 25 of her students to the Celtic Fling to perform at the event. Some students are as young as 2 years old and will make their performance debuts at the festival this weekend.

The Celtic Fling and Highland Games returns to the PA Ren Faire fairgrounds this weekend with a Friday concert kickoff at 5 p.m., and events on Saturday and Sunday starting at 11 a.m.

The event, which typically brings out 12,000-14,000 attendees each year, will feature more than a dozen live performances, the Highland Games competition and several historical demonstrations, as well as more than 100 artisan vendors and more than two dozen food vendors.

Irish dancing has been a big part of Carper's life for the past 25 years. When she started dating her now-husband Matthew Carper in 2010, she knew that he had to attend the Celtic Fling to get an idea of this facet of her life.

Matthew loved it— so much so, that it's where he proposed to Carper in 2012.

"He had organized a photo shoot for me on the chess stage, which is where my dancers had performed the last several years," Carper says. "When we got there, he got down on one knee and proposed."

Now, attending the Celtic Fling is a yearly tradition for the Carpers, one that typically ends with a drink from O'Malley's Pour House. Their 5-year-old daughter, Aslyn Carper, is starting a tradition of her own as she starts her Irish dancing journey.

Here's what you should know before attending the Celtic Fling this year.

READ:Mount Hope Estate pays tribute to Irish and Scottish traditions at Celtic Fling and Highland Games

The basics

The Celtic Fling is like a "music festival, cultural experience, sporting event, craft fair and food fest, all in one weekend," says Candace Smith, director of sales and communications at the PA Ren Faire and the Mount Hope Estate and Winery.

The festival kicks off at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, at 2775 Lebanon Road in Manheim, at 5 p.m. Friday. Think of Friday as a pre-festival concert kickoff, featuring Celtic bands like The Young Dubliners, Barleyjuice and Poehemia.

Tickets for Friday night cost $29.95 for general admission, or free for children ages 11 years old and younger.

The festival formally starts Saturday, with gates opening at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

One-day admission costs $33.95 for general admission and $13.95 for children ages 5-11 years old. Two-day admission costs $48.95 for general admission and $20.95 for children ages 5-11 years old. All childrenages 4 years old and younger can attend for free.

Those who enter past 4:30 p.m. can get the sunset Celtic Fling pricing, which is $19.95 for general admission and $7.95 for children ages 5-11 years old. These tickets will go live on the PA Ren Faire's website at 3:45 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The Highland Games, which features Scottish-based strength competitions, will be held at the Joust Arena at Bosworth Field Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Featured events include clachneart (similar to a shot put), two and four stone weight toss, Scottish hammer, four stone (25.4 kg) weight throw for height and the caber toss.

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Beat the heat

Given that Celtic Fling is a summertime festival, it's usually one of the hottest events that the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire holds each year, Smith says.

As of press time Tuesday, temperatures are forecast to be in the 90s through the weekend, according to AccuWeather.

Visitors are encouraged to bring empty refillable water bottles into the fairgrounds, or one factory-sealed bottle of water. They can be refilled at locations that offer soda, as well as the venue's water fountains.

"We encourage guests to practice heat safety tips, including staying hydrated, dressing for the heat, eating and using sunscreen," Smith says.

Those feeling unwell can notify the staff, or visit the First Aid Station on Privy Lane near Bosworth Field, Smith says.

Entertainment

While there are many components that make up the Celtic Fling, perhaps one of the biggest draws to the festival is the Celtic-themed concerts.

Smith says that the excitement from audience members is all-but tangible during the festival.

"It's all different energy, but there's so much of it across the whole fairgrounds that it almost vibrates," Smith says. "It sounds funny to say that, but you get some of the Celtic rock bands, and it can get insane."

When dancers from the Hooley School of Irish Dance aren't performing, Carper says that she'll be watching the music performances.

"For me, (Celtic Fling) is mixing my favorite things: Irish dance, Irish music and the outdoors, all in one," Carper says.

Carper says she likes a good drum beat, and says she's a big fan of Scottish band Albannach, which frequently performs at the Celtic Fling.

When booking the entertainment acts at Celtic Fling each year, organizers look at popular performers, and also look for new entertainers to bring each year.

"You'd be surprised how hand-in-hand the Celtic music and the Renaissance Faire are," says Jonathan Handley, lead administrator for the entertainment department at Mount Hope, among other job titles. "It feels like an endless stream of opportunity."

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'Four really silly people'

New to this year's Celtic Fling is the Celtic Revels, a band composed of Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire performers. (Previous iterations of the band were known as the Irish Revels and the Daughters of Ireland.)

The Celtic Revels is a band with rotating cast members, so those who see the band perform won't always see the same performers, much like the Rakish Rogues and The Sirens.

The band's concert will feature musicians Jordan Bell, Delaney Hagy, Pete Hedberg and Matthew Levy, formally performing their first event at O'Malley's Pour House at 12:45 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Bell says the spirit of folk music comes from sitting around campfires and making music. The Celtic Revels used a similar methodology to prepare for their performances.

"We're a group of four really silly people, so when we get together, it's really just hanging out and jamming together, which is how this stuff was created," says Bell, who will play the flute, guitar, mandolin, percussion and Irish whistle.

The band will play covers of popular Renaissance Faire songs, and Bell says that those who attend the PA Ren Faire frequently may recognize some of the tunes from previous years' festivals.

Those wanting to see the Celtic Revels perform should plan to attend during the Celtic Fling, as the band may take a different shape when faire season returns.

"This is like a one-hit wonder," Bell says. "You'll get the four of us singing together for the weekend ... I think as it stands right now, this is going to be a one-time-only kind of performance."

Bell, who has performed with the PA Ren Faire since 2018, travels from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to act in Manheim. It's a 16-hour drive, but she doesn't mind it.

"I am really excited and honored to be amongst the lineup they have," Bell says. "Those bands are incredible."

For more information about Celtic Fling, visit the PA Ren Faire's website.