The lads of Albannach dropped by.
Yea, a mighty wind whipped through the land. In a flash and in the twinkling of an eye, darkness descended over the floor of the Valley Forge Convention Center.
Not the least bit put off by the gloom, the Celtic tribal band Albannach took to the stage and banged their drums. And it was good. Really loud, but still really good.
The good news about the annual Mid-Winter Scottish & Irish Festival: There was no snow or ice. The bad news: The massive windstorm that swept through Montgomery County on Saturday blew out all the power to the convention center. But even here, there was a silver lining. Celtic people kept on pouring through the gates. Bands continued to perform onstage. And with battery-powered lights marking the way, bargain hunters cruised the vendor floor in search of claddagh rings, thistle brooches, kilts and swords. They lined up for meat pies, Welsh cookies and Highland Creamery ice cream.
When the lights did finally come on, a roar went up from the crowd. And that’s the point: Even with a power-out, there was still a crowd, and it grew as the day went on. It was pretty sizeable on Sunday, too.
We captured memories of both days. To see what we saw, play the interactive photo essay up top. To see photos with captions, click here.
