CATALINA FOOTHILLS, Ariz. (KGUN) — Festival season is here in southern Arizona, giving cultures across the state a chance to bring their communities together.
This weekend, 5,000 people will fill Rillito Park for the 39th annual Celtic Festival in Tucson, hoping to connect with their culture and community.
Whether you have Scottish, Irish or Welsh heritage, you can find traces of yourself at Rillito Park through the Tucson Celtic Festival.
The nonprofit Tucson Celtic Association, which organizes the event, said this is the first year they've held the festival with funding from the Arizona Commission on the Arts. The financial support comes as a welcome relief, as Celtic festivals across the country are closing their gates.
This year, the Phoenix Scottish Games canceled their festival in February, citing financial trouble and low-ticket sales in a Facebook post.
A Tucson Celtic Festival Organizer, Angela Nelson said that makes it even more important that the remaining festivals continue on.
""All throughout Tucson's history, we've had Celtic culture here— including Scottish and Irish culture and everything in between. We need to stick together. We want Celtic culture to stay alive in Arizona, and so we're really trying here— at the Tucson Celtic Festival— to bring in the younger generation, get them interested in their culture, get them involved," she said.
The Celtic Festival runs from Friday to Sunday, opening the gates at 5 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Kids under 12 years old can enter for free.
Festival Organizers are still accepting volunteers and athletes for the Highland Games.
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Alex Dowd is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9, where her work combines her two favorite hobbies: talking to new people and learning about the community around her. Her goal is to eventually meet every single person in Tucson. Share your story ideas with Alex via email, alex.dowd@kgun9.com, or connecting on Instagram or X.
