Thousands Celebrate Cultural Heritage at Moorhead’s Celtic Festival

The fifteenth annual event featured live music, arts and crafts, and free Celtic food

MOORHEAD, Minn. — For the fifteenth year in a row, thousands embraced Celtric traditions with the Fargo Park District and their families at the 15th annual Celtic Festival in Moorhead.

“You learn things about your own heritage, there’s some neat gifts here which keeps the wife happy, and the entertainers are great,” said Dean Nelson, an attendee of the Celtic Festival.

The Hjemkomst Center was filled with smells from different culinary treats, the sounds of bagpipes and classic Celtic tunes.

In addition to Ireland, the other nations include Scotland, Wales, Britanny, Cornwall, Galacia, and the Isle of Man.

“The St. Patty’s Day event, the parade and all that is just a small part of the Celtic nations so it’s able to take a broader scheme of everything,” said Stephanie D’Ambrosio, the Event Coordinator for the Fargo Park District.

2,500 people came to the Celtic Festival and each of them strove to learn more about Celtic traditions.

The idea behind the festival is to bring awareness to the other Celtic traditions.

Dean Nelson has been to many similar festivals, and he learns more about his heritage each year.

“I didn’t realize where it all came from until I got older, and now it means more to me,” said Nelson.

For those looking to soak in the fun next year, organizers are already planning ahead.

“We put this on for the community so we want to make sure everyone’s aware of it, we want to make sure that they know it’s a free event, and that they are welcome,” said D’Ambrosio.

In addition to the performers and food stations, the Celtic Festival featured many arts and crafts stations where kids learned how to dance and designed their own crowns.