Celtic Festival Fun Begins Wednesday

It's Celtic Festival week in Saline.

Volunteers have been at setting up for the festival, which officially begins Friday night. But you don't need to wait until Friday for Celtic fun. 

Here are five things you need to know about Celtic Festival.

Celtic Dinner and Whiskey Tasting

The festivall unofficially kicks off Wednesday night, when Shack hosts the annual  event. Reservations are required, so call Mac's to see if they can squeeze you in. What's on the menu? "Cock-a-leekie" soup, "mock" , stuffed quail, and whiskey white chocolate mousse, and more. 50 percent of the proceeds go to Saline Celtic Festival. The cost is $50.

Millie Millpond Celebrates 17th Birthday

Millie Millpond, the Celtic Festival Mascot, celebrated her 17th birthday Tuesday. Wish her a happy birthday on her Facebook page.

Celtic Festival For Kids

Wee Folks Island is for kids. Cross the Bowley Bridge and you'll enter the enchanted land of Celtic crafts and wee athletics. Kids can make beaded crows, paint their own shields, make brown paper bagpipes and cardboard swords and more. The wee ones can also compete in "Wee Athletics," such as Wee Caber Toss and Wee Haggis Hurl. There are ducky races at 1, 2, 3 and 4 p.m. The Wee Folks parade is at 4:10 p.m. Wee Folks Island is open from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Celtic Fun at Summer Music Series

In honor of the Celtic Festival, the weekly Thursday night Summer Music Series concert downtown will have a Celtic flavor. The Cleary Pub Sessions will play the free show downtown beginning at 7 p.m. Athletes from the Celtic Festival's Highland Games will be present to show off some of their skills. For more on the Highland Games, check out the Ancient Athletics website. Events include Weight Over Bar, Sheaf Toss, Caber Toss, and Braemar and Open Stone.

Buy Your Tickets

Celtic Festival tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth (13-17 years old). Admission is free for kids 12 and under. Groups of 10 can get in for $80. Purchase tickets online or at Brecon Grille, Busch's, the Drowsy Parrot, the Saline Rec Center or Wings, Pizza N Things. Tickets will also be available at the gate at Mill Pond Park.

For a full schedule of Saline Celtic Festival events, visit www.salineceltic.org.