San Diego Games back for 2026

[SF Jeff]

But if the whole event is fenced in, the whole thing could be considered an enclosed beer garden. No need for extra fences to keep beer out of the whole enclosure.

I had thought of this and it's definitely a possibility, but I know of two annual events (not highland games) that are fenced in, with one entrance/exit, and they both have a segregated beer/wine area. My neighbor is the coordinator of one of these events and she told me that it's done as a very deliberate effort to keep alcohol away from the minors, of which there are many at that event.

A free-roam policy for alcohol is great, but enclosing the entire grounds does not guarantee one. We'll see soon enough.

[SF Jeff]

I can't make SD this year because I have to be in L.A. Saturday night and that's a lot of driving in one day, so I was going to go to this one instead, but it has been cancelled. No explanation for the cancellation, but I think SD being the same weekend may have bit into their ticket sales.

www.californiacelticfest.com

[YOJiMBO20]

I'm looking forward to seeing how they set everything up and really hope that:

a) they don’t put the pipe band contests in a horrible location like the did in the last few years at Vista - dusty dirt and hot asphalt were a major downgrade from being able to play on the grass which, for some reason, was needed to hold extra cabers

and b) they do like EVERY OTHER GAMES out there and let you walk around with your beer instead of keeping you in the beer tent. If I want a beer after competing, I want to be able to walk around or sit in our band’s area, and not have to shout over the show bands performing (no offense intended towards Wicked Tinkers, Highland Way, or any other band in the beer tent, it’s just too loud to be able to relax before closing ceremonies).

I’m definitely toying with the idea of taking the trolley there (the trolley stop is just as far as parking will be) and saving money on parking. For those coming from out of town, it may be worth considering a place to stay that’s close to a Green Line trolley stop.

Following up on some things here:

a) Looking at the map, it looks like the pipe bands will be on grass again.

b) Beer will still be confined to beer tents, but there will be a second one again by the pipe bands (maybe they finally acquiesced after years of asking them to bring that back).


As far as parking, I opted for parking on-site because I was able to prepay for $3 parking in the lot, which is half the price of an all day trolley ticket.