Celtic music & magic: KVMR’s festival turns 20

THE 20TH ANNUAL KVMR CELTIC FESTIVAL & Marketplace mixes Celtic music and magic September 30-October 2 in Grass Valley at the Nevada County Fairgrounds, a bucolic setting on 100 acres among giant ponderosa pines.

The fairgrounds are transformed into a Celtic Village and concert venue, with eight stages and performance areas. The main stage hosts many of the world’s best Celtic musicians.

Main stage musical headliners for this year include Scottish fiddle-cello duo Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas, Celtic folk rockers The Elders from Ireland, The Jeremiahs from British Colombia, Jocelyn Pettit, festival favorites Molly’s Revenge, Wake the Dead and others.

Dining and shopping opportunities abound with over 50 vendors and a complete Irish Pub. Hundreds of regional performers, singers, bagpipers, actors, jugglers and storytellers roam the fairgrounds.

KVMR will offer a Free Friday Youth Arts program on Friday from 4-7 p.m., giving local students ages 10-18 the chance to participate in workshops with headline performers.

The Ceilidh returns on Friday night starting at 7:30 p.m. It is a Celtic party with music, dancing and revelry under the stars.

Musicians are encouraged to bring their instruments and join in with jam sessions and workshops scheduled throughout the weekend.

History buffs can explore several encampments of “Guilds,” who re-create points and places in time. Revelers make music into the night in the campgrounds, complete with tall trees and a lake. Camping and RV hookups are available on-site.
KVMR.org

Exciting and educational, the Celtic animals exhibit houses falcons, eagles, hawks, owls, sheep and ponies. Amateur and professional athletes test their strength and skill in Scottish games. Children engage in arts and crafts, storytelling, and romping on straw bales.

The Bridge Street Project
KVMR 89.5 Community Radio and the Nevada Theatre Commission, assisted by the community at large, collaborated to build an 8,000 sq.-ft. building behind the historic theater at the corner of Bridge and Spring streets in Nevada City.

The Bridge Street project creates a new home for the award-winning radio station and adds needed backstage space to California’s oldest theater. It also is helping to create an Arts District in the neighborhood.

The project was completed early last year, and a few opportunities remain to name rooms or the entire building. For more information or to make a donation, visit BridgeStreetProject.org.

(Photo: Kial James)

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