Festivals

Kansas City Irish Festival

Held each year at the end of summer, this festival combines the two previous Kansas City Irish festivals into one HUGE festival. See the web site for details.

Weston Irish Festival

Held at O'Malley's in Weston, Missouri. See the website for details.

Kansas City Scottish Highland Games

Held at Riverfront Park in Riverside, Missouri. This huge festival typically combines competition in a variety of events with continuous live Celtic music and dance, authentic Scottish and Irish foods, import and specialty vendors, Scottish clans and genealogy information, storytelling, childrens' games, weaving demos and more!

Lawrence Scottish Fest

January 25th, 2009, Lawrence Arts Center

This festival, formerly called "Burns Night," is held the last Sunday in January at the Lawrence Arts Center. The Festival portion, 5:30-7:00 PM, features traditional Scottish music with a Celtic jam session and bagpipers from "Pipers of the Plains." The Festival portion also includes a Clan heritage booth, a raffle of original Celtic jewelry, and traditional Scottish treats.

The Concert portion features contemporary Scottish music, including traditional songs & tunes done in a modern style. The Concert also includes songs by Scottish artists (Dougie MacLean, Andy Stewart, Peter Maxwell Davies, etc.) and original Scottish-theme songs by the evening's musicians. Regular performers are Forest Green and either Maria & Megan or their band, Uncle Dirty Toes.

Winter Storm

Four days of pipe and drumming workshops, competitions, traditional Scottish dancing, and concerts. It is usually held the middle of January with the concert at the Community Christian Church, Kansas City, Missouri. See the website for information.

Gathering of Celtic Tribes

Now in it's 10th year, "Th' Gatherin" is held in Old Glencoe Township on MacLeod's land just to the north of Cedar Bluff State Park in western Kansas. Usually is held sometime around Beltane (end of April or early May), it is like a smaller version of the Kansas City Scottish Highland Games, except that admission is free and it is basically run through volunteer coordination. It includes competition in a variety of events, live Celtic music and dance, authentic Scottish and Irish foods, import and specialty vendors, clan and genealogy information, storytelling, childrens' games, weaving demos and more. A banquet is held where the winners in the various competitions are announced.

Other Music Festivals

Numerous music festivals exist in this area where Celtic musicians are sometimes included along with folk, blues, country, jazz and other acts. To list just a few: Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas each September; Hidden Glen Festival near Olathe, KS each October.

Celtic Music Sessions

www.FolkJam.Org

The best appreciation for traditional music, of course, comes from actually playing it. This site is a GREAT resource for acoustic musicians wanting to start or attend a jam session. Check it out!

Benedictine College Celtic Music Club

The newest Celtic society in the area is the Benedictine College Celtic Music Club in Atchison. John Bunch and others have taken what started as a session to a whole new level by promoting Celtic concerts and sharing music files. See www.bccmc.org and John Bunch's website.

Kansas City Sessions

Gaf Bar and Grill
7122 Wornall
Kansas City, MO, 64114
Weekly on 2nd Saturday, 4th Saturday Start: 3:00 pm End: 6:00 pm
Contact Name: Chris Hope: 816-763-5205

Kansas City Irish Museum and Cultural Center
Repeats: Monthly on 3rd Sunday Start: 1:00 pm End: 4:00 pm
Homepage: http://irishmuseum.org/
Contact Name: Roger Fox, 913-226-5007

Radio

Trail Mix

Bob McWilliams promotes Celtic music through through Westside Folk concert series in Lawrence (see below) and his Trail Mix show Sundays on Kansas Public Radio. The 1-4 PM portion of the radio program is devoted to contemporary folk music, including a scattering of contemporary Celtic artists. The 6-7 PM portion is traditional Celtic music, followed at 7-8 PM by "The Thistle and Shamrock." The station broadcasts throughout north-east Kansas and is accessible over the internet.

Celtic Crossing

Sunday mornings, 11am to noon on 1510 AM.

The Gold Ring

For over 18 years on Springfield's KSMU radio, "The Gold Ring" with host Lee Worman has been playing and promoting Celtic music. This site, based around the program, is an excellent source for local Celtic information as well as providing a wide variety of internet links to other Celtic sites. "The Gold Ring" airs every Saturday night from 9:00pm to 10:00pm on 91.1 FM.

Celtic Heartland

Thursday evenings, 6-7 pm, on KZUM, 89.3 FM, Lincoln, Nebraska. This program, accessible online, is an excellent source for information about Celtic events and performs in the Lincoln/Omaha area. Their web site is particularly helpful for locating additional Celtic resources.

Internet Radio Stations

Perhaps the best place to hear a variety of Celtic recordings is over the internet. There are many options, so check out the above link, www.Ceolas.Org, for a listing of what's available.