20 Acquisition International - Non-Profit Organisation Awards 2023 Apr23507 Most Entertaining European Cultural Heritage Event 2023 - British Columbia Registered in British Columbia since 2004, CelticFest Vancouver is a non-profit society that aims to bring together the local community in an annual festival to celebrate Celtic culture and enjoy a St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The event is young and vibrant, showcasing the best of Celtic music, dance, spoken word, film, food, and fare. Here, we explore how the festival has grown and what it’s like today. n 2004, the first CelticFest took place, organised with seed funding from the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association. Both the festival and the parade received an overwhelmingly positive response from the community, which inspired the CelticFest team to turn it into an annual event. Since then, the event has grown exponentially, receiving increasing media coverage, volunteers, and attendees. Today, it is Western Canada’s biggest annual Celtic festival. Serving as a rich cultural celebration of the seven Celtic nations’ kinship and community, CelticFest strives to deliver education on global Celtic heritage, art, and cultural traditions. The cornerstones of the event are community, diversity, family, and civic pride, drawing artistic direction from over 5,000 years of Celtic history and culture. CelticFest also aims to promote local and international Celtic music, dance, theatre, film, art, crafts, Highland sports, food, and beverages. Its commitment to arts and culture sets it apart from other organisations. For example, in 2006, Canadian world music group Delhi2Dublin was formed for a one-shot performance at CelticFest, where they delivered a high-energy live set that was extremely well received by the public. Following the event, the group decided to form permanently. They went on to tour and perform at some of Canada’s biggest festivals, playing a fusion of Bhangra, electronic, funk, dub, reggae, hip hop, I Celtic music, and other genres. CelticFest is proud to have played a key role in their formation and success. As a non-profit organisation, CelticFest is backed by a number of volunteers, who dedicate their personal time all year round to ensure the success of the festival. Without them, the event simply wouldn’t be able to take place. The organisation invites anyone interested to apply for a volunteer role, which they can find details about on its website. When looking for new volunteers, CelticFest seeks individuals who align with its culture and values, which are largely based on having fun and creating an entertaining family event. Each year, CelticFest faces challenges in terms of funding. Fortunately, the festival is backed by a number of committed donors and sponsors, whose support is indispensable to the organisation. However, with rising costs, it is more and more difficult for the organisation to balance its budget and achieve everything it wants to with the funding it has. However, CelticFest is dedicated to overcoming these challenges and consistently delivering the fun, exciting event it is known for, whilst improving year on year. For CelticFest, 2023 has been a big year so far. It organised its biggest festival to date, which was a weeklong series of celebrations including music, comedy, and entertainment. The festival began on 11th March with a performance from the Vancouver Welsh Men’s Choir. The week went on to include several more events, including a variety show, “What’s the Craic?” at the Rio Theatre, produced by Clare Voyeur. The week culminated in a weekend festival at Vancouver Art Gallery, kicking off on Saint Patrick’s Day, which featured live music, a beer tent, food trucks, Irish dancing, a Celtic-themed market, Irish Wolfhounds, a family zone, sports celebrations, and more. Across two stages, crowds were entertained by acts like Jas Minh, the Irish dancing drag queen, and Eire Born Irish Dancers, who performed traditional Irish dance. The celebration was hugely successful, welcoming people from across Vancouver and beyond. As a result of its incredible annual festival, which provides endless fun, entertainment, and cultural knowledge to people of all ages, CelticFest has been awarded Most Entertaining European Cultural Heritage Event, British Columbia, in the Non-Profit Organisation Awards 2023. We congratulate the organisation on this achievement and wish its team the best of luck as they look forward to hosting the next CelticFest at Vancouver Art Gallery in March 2024, which is looking to be its biggest and best yet. Company: CelticFest Vancouver Web Address: www.celticfestvancouver.com
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