Feel the festival spirit
What to expect from the National Celtic Folk Festival
The best in celtic
and folk music
The festival offers a dynamic program that is constantly informed by Celtic influences and cross-cultural work but is equally responsive to our contemporary and folk experiences - showcasing the best of Celtic culture and Folk from across Australia, as well as internationally.
The music program offers a broad range of exciting experiences including music concerts, workshops, displays and forums.
Theatre, Words, Story
Not just a great music festival, but a great festival of theatre!
The festival is committed to developing a rich and broad arts festival, where the performing and literary arts feel right at home within our festival program.
“We have been true to our commitment of deeply engaging with Celtic culture through an exploration of language, literature, poetry and theatre. What has emerged is a real thirst for such a program, attracting interest from a broad spectrum of audiences, and artists of such high caliber from Australia and overseas.”
—Jim Lawson, Vessel Theatre Company.
New talents to discover, Old crafts to explore
The program represents a diverse range of art forms – Music, Visual Arts, Theatre Dance, Literature, Story, Language, Ceremony, Song and Choir, History and Heritage, Roving Performances, Demonstrations, ancient ceremony and rituals around open fires, highland cattle exhibitions, Heavy Games, Gaelic Football displays and new works/projects from visual artists.
Within these strands there are performances, concerts, workshops, master classes competitions, forums, demonstrations, visual arts projects and themed events – these are also programmed across the year!
Something for everyone
The wonderful thing about music and culture is it transcends age and can be enjoyed by everyone from the very young to the young at heart.
The festival includes quality children’s entertainment; a workshop program just for kids; displays, come, and try sessions and all the fun of the family-friendly Ceili dance party.