Folk festival to enjoy 20-year celebration

CELTIC culture, music and much more will be on display as the National Celtic Folk Festival returns to the Bellarine next month.

The annual music festival, which falls on the King’s Birthday Long Weekend, will provide residents with a raft of musical acts and various activations over four days.

Festival director Una McAlinden said her excitement was palpable for the festival to return to Portarlington for a 20th year on June 7-10, with top-level talent flying in to perform at this year’s event.

“It’s exciting because we are bringing back the best of some of the last 20 years in terms of acts and crowd favourites, it’s a bit of everything this year as far as the programme is concerned,” Ms McAlinden said.

“We hope to pique the interest of our dedicated fans from recent years, while welcoming new ones.”

This year’s line-up features almost 70 top-class national and international Folk and Celtic artists in a music, arts, and culture event for everyone.

The program will be held across 12 venues, transforming the Portarlington foreshore into a lively winter extravaganza.

The artist line-up features favourites Tim Scanlan and Mana Okubu, Claymore, Rich Davies, Shane Howard ‘Seanathair and clan’, The Maes, and more.

Activations on offer for children and adults include theatre, concerts, jam sessions, Highland Swordplay, heavy games, ceilis, workshops, exciting dancing, pipe and drum bands, markets, delicious food and drink, and Irish sport Hurling.

Guests can also partake in storytelling, children’s concerts, demonstrations and interactive art experiences ensuring something fun on offer for everyone.

“We’re extremely lucky to have acts coming down from Scotland and even as far as Tasmania, which will add to the authenticity of the festival,” Ms McAlinden sad.

“Each year we try to get something different at the event, such as several art installations at this year’s festival.

“We’ll also have the return of the storytelling activities named ‘The Spirit of Story’ which has been a crowd favourite in previous years.”

For more information on this year’s National Celtic Folk Festivala and the artist line-up, head to

nationalcelticfestival.com