Showing a little leg.
Kilts.
Everywhere you looked at the 2010 Mid-Winter Scottish & Irish Festival, kilts. The Washington Memorial Pipe Band performed jigs, reels and strathspeys there at the Valley Forge Scanticon all weekend, and of course, you know what they wore. Hanging about the concert stage, beers at the ready, fans of the rowdy band Albannach were decked out in their own colorful tartans—with Doc Martens, which was a nice touch. On Saturday, one young woman paraded about in the shortest kilt I’ve ever seen—not that I looked. We also bumped into a dude named Tweak with a multicolor mohawk, and he was modeling the rugged, no-nonsense Utilikilt. Yessir, we were up to our keisters in kilts.
Of course, Highland apparel wasn’t the only attraction. Organizers Bill and Karen Reid made sure there was plenty to keep festival-goers occupied. The Celts who crowded onto the convention hall floor, starting Friday night and on into late Sunday afternoon, rocked out to great bands like Searson, Paddy’s Well, the Tartan Terrors, Screaming Orphans, Rathkeltair and Brother. (And the aforementioned Albannoch.)
Noshers had their pick of snacks, from meat pies to shortbread to Bailey’s and brown bread ice cream served up by the sweet folks at the Scottish Highland Creamery from Maryland’s Eastern Shore. For tipplers, there were whisky tastings and pints (sadly, small pints) of Smithwick’s.
If you wanted to, you could take Irish language lessons or break out your fiddle and play in a traditional music session. Kids from the Campbell School of Highland Dance and Fitzpatrick School of Irish Dance were up on their toes all weekend. Vendors sold everything from miniature whiskey barrels to personalized pub paintings to Claddagh rings. The Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day parade had a table. So did the Sunday morning Irish radio shows. (And, for the first time, us too.)
In the midst of a dreary winter, in the wake of a bone-chilling midweek blizzard, the 2010 festival was just what the doctor ordered. And you’d better believe the Reids were keeping an eye on the weather forecasts.
Says a relieved Bill Reid, “We were sweating bullets the week before and were more than happy when we missed the previous weekend but when Wednesday happened … well, need I say more?”
The cold and the snow—not to mention the ice-coated Scanticon parking lot—evidently didn’t deter festival fans, especially on the first full day of the event. “Saturday is always the bigger day and this year was slightly better than last,” says Reid, “and that was our record setter.”
The Reids are already thinking about how to make next year’s event even better, with an eye toward boosting Sunday attendance and drawing in more locals.
We’ve been going for years, and wouldn’t miss it. The Mid-Winter Festival is a great warm-up for the St. Patrick’s craziness that is to come.
Couldn’t make it? Check out our videos.
Washington Memorial Pipe Band With Campbell School of Highland Dance Part 1
http://www.irishphiladelphia.com/video/washingtoncampbell2010
Washington Memorial Pipe Band With Campbell School of Highland Dance Part 2
http://www.irishphiladelphia.com/video/washingtoncampbell2010-02
Albannach in Concert at the 2010 Mid-Winter Scottish & Irish Festival
http://www.irishphiladelphia.com/video/albannoch2010
Brother in Concert at the 2010 Mid-Winter Scottish & Irish Festival
http://www.irishphiladelphia.com/video/brother2010
Paddy’s Well at the 2010 Mid-Winter Scottish & Irish Festival
http://www.irishphiladelphia.com/video/paddyswell2010
Fitzpatrick Irish Dancers Step Out
http://www.irishphiladelphia.com/video/fitzpatrick2010-01
The Little Ones
http://www.irishphiladelphia.com/video/littleones
Amazing Grace
http://www.irishphiladelphia.com/video/amazinggrace
Fitzpatrick Irish Dancers
http://www.irishphiladelphia.com/video/fitzpatrick2010-02
