Pics from A Celebration of Celts (upstate NY)

**JRB** · 9th May 08, 05:18 PM

A celebration Of Celts held last Saturday at the Columbia County Fair Grounds was a cold, windy, damp, drizzly, overcast day. In other words perfect weather for a highland gathering! I attended the event with my wife, Nicole. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any other X-markers present. Despite the chilly temperatures we had a good time and the turnout was pretty decent. ACOT has always been a rather small event. This year was no exception. The weather definitely had an impact on attendance. However, overall I thought there was a good turnout. We took a lot of pictures, so here they are…

I wore my Rose ancient hunting kilt (made by Matt Newsome) with a Fergusson-Britt Inversnaid sporran and an L.L. Bean wool commando sweater. It was just warm enough and shed the rain well.

Nicole was wrapped in Gore-Tex and was not fond of the cold weather.

There was only one pipe and drum band that I saw. I’m not even sure of the name of this band.

Several folks brought dogs. I saw at least three Scottish Deerhounds. They are beautiful, graceful animals.

A candid pleat shot.

The avenue of the clans. This gives you an idea of how overcast it was. The temperature was in the upper 40s (f.) with a constant stiff wind.

One of the highlights of the day for me were the small Gypsy Vanner horses. I had never seen smaller draft horses before. I was told these were genuine, cold-blooded draft horses bred down in size by Irish travelers. They were quite a sight to see.

There was a local celtic band in the pavilion where we ate lunch. Unfortunately, I didn’t get their name.

**JRB** · 9th May 08, 05:19 PM

Nicole enjoying her fish and chips. That was about it for authentic food. I couldn’t find any bridies, meat pies or haggis. Not even any HP sauce. Bummer.

The pavilion offered a nice place to warm up from the outside chill.

The turnout wasn’t bad considering…

There was a really nice representation of reenactors present. This is always a big part of a Celebration Of Celts

I always look for this tent at every northeast celtic gathering I attend. I love eccles cakes. They are definitely worth the sticky fingers.

**JRB** · 9th May 08, 05:20 PM

In the main tent Coyote Run performs. They were the only band Nicole and I saw that day, though Enter The Haggis and several other bands performed.

Nicole huddling from the cold.

This is me after about 6 pints of IPA. The cold didn’t seem to bother me at all.

Pleat shot taken just before the return home.

**McMurdo** · 9th May 08, 05:26 PM

Nice photos, not so nice weather, but glad you had a good time of it.

**SexyButler** · 9th May 08, 05:32 PM

Geez man, did you get Nicole a pint? Or three? She looks so cold, brrr.

Seriously, those were great pics, thanks for sharing that. You both looked great! I wish I could have been there!

**ardchoille** · 9th May 08, 05:45 PM

Very nice pics! Glad you had a good time. I really like the pics of the reenactors area.

I'm looking forward to the Scottish games and clan gathering here in Washington at the end of July.

**bchunter** · 9th May 08, 05:51 PM

Very nice pics, and thanks for sharing.

**JRB** · 9th May 08, 06:40 PM

Originally Posted by SexyButler

Geez man, did you get Nicole a pint? Or three? She looks so cold, brrr.

We were both cold that day. Mainly our hands were freezing. My kilt and sweater kept me pretty warm but I sure wish I had gloves. It's hard to believe that just a few days earlier it was almost 80 degrees out. Oh well, that's a classic New York spring for you. And yes, Nicole had her share of pints. She stuck to Smithwicks and Newcastle.