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  The Winter Celtic Festival is becoming an annual event that celebrates our city's connection to all things Celtic.   We are now a registered 501c3 non-profit organization. And thus makes your sponsorship tax deductible. The festival offers an engaging, family friendly environment for sponsors to build their brand awareness and equity with a very loyal audience. Our core group of organizers attend & promote at many different festivals from North Carolina to New England. We will draw a diverse group of attendees over a holiday weekend. Because of the variety of "one of a kind" entertainment presented, the Festival gives your brand an exceptional opportunity for sustained exposure to this very attractive audience.

  The Festival offers a number of Sponsorship and advertising opportunities with which to integrate a successful marketing program. We have developed several sponsorship packages, listed below. Or, we will work with you to develop a customized package to fit your business's interests and budgetary needs. 

  Our city is only 6 miles away from the largest employer in Harford County. Aberdeen Proving Ground is a U.S. Army facility that employs both military and civilians. In 2018, our Mayor and a few of our citizens decided to welcome the incoming Major General in charge of the Army base with an intimate dinner celebration. We invited a diverse cross section of  our city and put together a Burn's Night Dinner at The A.P. McCombs House. Mind you, none of us knew how to accomplish this! Following is a quote from Robert F. Lackey, published Author, former APG employee and attendee of that very first dinner.

 "The Force ran strong in us, all tartaned up and nowhere to go. Many of us with Scottish ancestry, either thick or thin, gathered around the magnificent table in the dining room of Perry Stewart's historic house. We, happy few, were actually twenty-two sitting around that colossal table. We made our own Burns Night with Scottish accents as best we could to do justice to the Ode to Haggis. Word spread around Havre de Grace, and by the second year, the humble celebration had grown to 96 attendees. Three separate cocktail parties flooded Union Avenue with kilts and tartan plaids marching with a bagpipe heading to the Vandiver Inn's party tent. There we had a more formal ceremony with Scottish drinking rites, and Claymore Swords held high. Year three grew to 150 attendees, five cocktail parties, and a three-day festival supported by the Vandiver Inn and the newly re-opened State Theater in town. Even during the pandemic, 60 stalwart Scottish souls came again to the Vandiver with tartans and masks and haggis and Scotch. The seeds are planted for 2022. The recognition of Burns Night has sent deep roots into the Havre de Grace community. The Scottish in us are eager to come out in January for all things Celtic."  

  So, to be perfectly honest, this started as a Scottish Festival. But, because of the Havre de Grace Twinning association with Mumbles, Wales  and having many citizens being able to trace their heritage back to many of the Celtic Nations, here we are. We want to celebrate everything Celtic!                        

  We are very excited to be able to hold the bulk of the festival's events in the newly renovated STAR Centre. STAR stands for Sports, Theater, Athletics & Recreation. The building was the gyms & auditorium for our old high school. A new school was built in the last few years, the old school was demolished and the city was given the keys to the facility. A bonus to this venue is a brand new parking lot directly across Congress Avenue where the old school stood. 

  The sanctioned Highland Games will be held on the field directly behind the facility, with ample viewing from all four sides. And, because we are doing this in mid-January, the athletes and judges will have a private warming room that used to be the gym weight room. 

  We will be using the large main gym for our vendor village with an area at the far end for sanctioned dance and music competitions. Each day a different sanctioned competition will happen. For example, Scottish Highland Dance one day, Fiddling/bagpipe another, and Irish competitive dance. This would create a daily draw of different attendees and a fresh bit of entertainment for those that are joining us for the whole three day weekend.There is room for 42+ 10'x10' vendor spaces which will provide a wonderful shopping experience for attendees. Also, having dance & music performances in the room will give it an extra festive feel.

  The smaller back gym will house the "Kid's Zone". There will be Mock Highland Games, face painting and hair braiding, Celtic Crafts, Puppet shows and the Dogs of the Celtic Nations area. Also, Vendors that are geared towards children.

  There are two sizable classrooms that are in the area of the gym. One will be the Gaelic Language Village. The Gaelic School of Baltimore will be hosting this. They teach everything from learning the "Wool Waulking Song" seen in the first season of the Outlander series, to performances on the fiddle and harp. The other classroom will house the Havre de Grace Twinning Association.They were instrumental in the Twinning of our City with the city of Mumbles, Wales. Covid postponed many events that they had organized with the good people of Mumbles. But, our city will be hosting a delegation from there this fall. And, they are very excited to be a large part of our festival. 

  The beautiful Auditorium has 967 seats for performances. We have been in touch with a few internationally acclaimed groups to perform.  Having a different headliner for each day will also attract a far reaching crowd. When the big bands aren't performing, we will have many other musical and theatrical performances, all with a Celtic vibe. The Rehoboth Welsh Choir , Sean Healy Band, Charlie Zahm, Irish Blessing, Cormorants Fancy, Shamrogues, Rogue Swan and New Brigade were all booked last year and plan to join us this year. We have also compiled an extensive list of talent in our travels to other festivals in the last year. 

  The Choir room to the side of the auditorium will be our whiskey tasting venue. 

Because we are a registered 501c3 non-profit organization, your tax-exempt charitable contributions are always welcomed. Please contact us via email at administrator@hdgburnsgathering.org or contact Crystal Hudson, our Marketing, Promotions & PR representative directly at either crystalhdgceltic@gmail.com or 410-652-2227 

All contributions can also be mailed to our secretary-treasurer at: 120 S. Union Ave., Havre de Grace, MD 21078