{"id":151061,"date":"2026-09-16T16:11:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T20:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/?p=151061"},"modified":"2026-09-16T16:11:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T20:11:19","slug":"celtic-cultural-alliance-announces-the-39th-annual-celtic-classic-highland-games-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/?p=151061","title":{"rendered":"Celtic Cultural Alliance Announces The 39th Annual Celtic Classic Highland Games & Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

Celtic Cultural Alliance Announces The 39th<\/sup> Annual Celtic Classic Highland Games & Festival<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bethlehem, PA \u2013 September 14, 2026<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Celtic Cultural Alliance (CCA) is excited to announce the return of the Celtic Classic Highland Games & Festival, happening September 25th<\/sup> \u2013 27th<\/sup>.\u00a0 The Celtic Classic is the largest free Celtic festival in North America!\u00a0 Five stages of world-renowned Celtic entertainers will fill downtown Bethlehem with the sounds of tin whistles, fiddles and of course bagpipes!<\/p>\n

There are many great performers this year representing Scotland & Ireland and the other Celtic nations. These bands range from traditional to Celtic rock and fusion.\u00a0 They will keep toes tapping and inspire a jig or two.\u00a0 Crowd favorites On the Lash join Screaming Orphans newcomers, C\u00falra, The Ogham Stones and Pilgrims of Deep Run.\u00a0 Seamus Kennedy returns with his Celtic comedy and pub style songs along with other traditional performers like Gerry Timlin and the Dave North Trio.\u00a0 Of course, the weekend would not be complete without the energy and amazing dancing of the O\u2019Grady Quinlan Academy of Irish Dance.<\/p>\n

The U.S. National Highland Games Championship will see the top pro highland athletes in the country competing for the title of National Champion.\u00a0 These ancient fetes of strength are not to be missed!<\/p>\n

The event kicks off Friday with Haggis Bowl 2026 taking place on Highland Field at 5:30 to see who can eat a pound of haggis the fastest.<\/p>\n

The Showing of the Tartan Parade is always a major highlight.\u00a0 The parade steps off from City Hall at 11:30am on Saturday, 09\/26.\u00a0 Competing pipe bands will participate along with the U.S. Naval Academy Pipe Band, Scottish clans, Freedom and Liberty High School marching bands.\u00a0 The Grade 4 pipe band competition will take place on Saturday beginning at 1:30pm.\u00a0 Grade 3 will compete on Sunday at 12:00.<\/p>\n

Celtic Heritage Hollow located in the Colonial Industrial Quarter has loads of activities for children, Many Scottish clans will be present to share historical and genealogical information, and the Heritage Stage will have interesting lectures such as: Steel Hero \u2013 Capt. Bill Jones talk by\u00a0Martha Capwell Fox\u00a0|\u00a0Historian
\nDelaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, Celtic Lore History & Heritage by International Storyteller Kristin Pedemonti, Seamus Kennedy\u2019s children\u2019s performance, musical workshops and don\u2019t miss Freedom High School\u2019s Celtic Ensemble.<\/p>\n

There will be food galore ranging from haggis, bridies, bangers & mash to poutine and crab cakes!\u00a0 Save time to peruse the 50 Celtic merchants with goods from all seven Celtic nations like apparel, jewelry, d\u00e9cor and more.<\/p>\n

The 39th<\/sup> Annual Celtic Classic Highland Games & Festival runs from Friday, September 25th<\/sup> through Sunday, September 27th, <\/sup>2026, in Historic Downtown Bethlehem.\u00a0 For up-to-the-minute information and updates, follow Celtic Classic on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@CelticClassic).<\/p>\n

For more information on the Celtic Classic, directions, volunteering opportunities, the weekend\u2019s schedule, and other Celtic Cultural Alliance events, visit the organization\u2019s website at www.celticfest.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Find Us On Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @CelticClassic.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

About the Celtic Cultural Alliance<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Columbus Day weekend in 1988, the first Celtic Classic was presented by a small group of individuals.\u00a0 The goal of this dedicated group was to create an event that symbolized the Celtic spirit and history, and to provide the impetus for an organization that focused on promoting the Celtic culture. This group has now evolved into Celtic Cultural Alliance to better communicate the overall goals of the organization.<\/p>\n

The CCA has expanded with year-round programming to support the mission of promoting and preserving Celtic Culture through arts, music, literature, dance, and history programs. In keeping with the spirit of \u201cNext Generation\u201d, the CCA also offers scholarships to promising young students of the Celtic Arts. These yearly scholarships are offered to students of the arts, including Irish Step Dance, Highland Dance, Fiddle, and Bagpipes.<\/p>\n

The Celtic Classic has blossomed into one of the largest Highland Games and Celtic Festivals in North America. Annually, over 200,000 visitors come to Historic Bethlehem to join in this celebration of all things Celtic. The organization has expanded into year-round programs. Our educational programming has expanded to include community outreach events in area school districts, religious institutions, local theaters and colleges throughout the Lehigh Valley. A series of scholarships are awarded each year in varied areas of Celtic culture.<\/p>\n

Celtic Classic Highland Games & Festival, Parade of Shamrocks and Lehigh Valley HopsFest and CCA event logos are trademarks of Celtic Cultural Alliance in the U.S. and\/or other countries.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2024 Celtic Classic- Highland Games & Festival.
\nAll Rights Reserved.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:
\nJayne Ann M. Recker<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Celtic Cultural Alliance Announces The 39th Annual Celtic Classic Highland Games & Festival Bethlehem, PA \u2013 September 14, 2026\u00a0\u2013 Celtic Cultural Alliance (CCA) is excited to announce the return of the Celtic Classic Highland Games & Festival, happening September 25th \u2013 27th.\u00a0 The Celtic Classic is the largest free Celtic festival in North America!\u00a0 Five … Continue reading Celtic Cultural Alliance Announces The 39th Annual Celtic Classic Highland Games & Festival<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":151062,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\r\n\r\n{excerpt}\r\n\r\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-151061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ccc-2026.jpg?fit=672%2C372&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=151061"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":151063,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151061\/revisions\/151063"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/151062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=151061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=151061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=151061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}