Join us at O Canada House B&B for Western Canada’s largest celebration of all things Celtic March 16th-20th, 2011.

This annual festival is a Vancouver favorite, compromised of more than 60 (mostly free!) events that are sure to get your toes tapping, taste-buds humming and imagination soaring!

O Canada House Festival Picks:

(Via Vancouver Celtic Festival – Click here for full event schedule)

March 16th  | 12-1 pm | Plaza At Pacific Centre

Lunchtime Concert: Fiddlestix

The Vancouver duo of Cary Grigg, on fiddle, and vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Janet Noade have been serving up high-energy fiddle music for over four years. Cary is a champion Métis fiddler whose unique approach blends Irish, Scottish, Métis, East Coast and Swing styles. Janet brings her French Acadian, Mi’kmaq and Irish heritages, a life spent playing percussive instruments and a poetic spirit to this dynamic duo.

March 16 | 5pm | Doolin’s Bar

A Whisky Kiss: 5th Annual Scotch-tasting

Back by popular demand! A Whisky Kiss is a tantalizing opportunity for neophytes as well as the most discriminating scotch and Irish whiskey-lovers to experience the flavours and rich heritage of scotch & whiskey. Join Jameson Whiskey Brand Ambassador, Rory Sheridan and Legacy Liquor store’s scotch specialist Derrick Cousins as they guide you through the scents, the tastes, the history of this most superb and complex “water of life”.

This event sells fast – reserve your spot early!

March 17th | 2-6 pm | Ceilis Irish Pub

Concert: Pat Chessel

A featured artist at the 2010 Winter Olympics’ Irish Pavilion, Pat Chessell’s talents are now recognized across Western Canada and beyond. Pat is gifted with the ability to win over any audience with his eclectic mix of Irish and Canadian folk music, exceptional acoustic guitar playing, passionate vocals and an often downright funny stage presence. The Celtic Connection says “check him out now so you could you say you knew him when”.

March 17th | 5 & 7:30 pm | Ceilis Irish Pub

Concert: Sionnaine Irish Dancers

The Sionnaine (pronounced Shannon) Irish Dance Academy performs an energetic, near gravity-defying show steeped in the grand tradition of Irish dance.  Featuring dancers of varying ages, male and female, they perform both traditional and modern Irish step dancing including hard shoe and soft shoe as well as ceili (group) dancing and choreographies. Come watch and enjoy as their love for Irish dancing inspires us all to get in touch with our inner step dancer.

March 18 | 7pm |Stadium Club @ Edgewater Casino

Show: AfroCeltic Dance Party

A CelticFest Vancouver premier!

On stage together for the very first time, some of Canada’s most celebrated African and Celtic vocalists, musicians and dancers come together to burst past boundaries and create musical alchemy at CelticFest. Outstanding artists find musical affinity; two vibrant musical traditions fuse into one unique concert that can only be experienced live!

On stage are JUNO Award-Winning West African guitar maestro and singer,Alpha Yaya Diallo, former Mad Pudding band mates Amy Stephen (accordion), Allan Dionne (drums), and Boris Favre (bass), Ottawa Valley fiddler and step dancerStephanie Cadman, world percussionist and multi-instrumentalist Boris Sichon, African dancer N’ato Camera and percussionist Yoro Noukoussi.

In the hands of these virtuoso talents, the electrifying rhythms, melodies and connections between these two musical worlds is explored – and a night made for dancing is born!

March 19 | 11am – 6pm | Celtic Village – Granville Street (Robson to Smithe)

Stop by the Celtic Village downtown Vancouver on Granville Street (Robson to Smithe) for a fun filled day of all things Celtic. Face painting, galeic football demos, storytelling, free music events, swordplay and Irish trivia, there is something to bring out a little Irish in all of us!

March 20 | 11 am | 7th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade!

We love a parade! The colour, the spectacle, the electric energy and sheer joy that comes from a few hundred-thousand of your closest friends sharing in some fun and revelry. When you add in that magical Celtic spirit, you’ve got CelticFest’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade!

Get your family and friends together, throw on something green, and get ready for pipes and drums, acrobats, stilt-walkers, musicians and dancers – and so much more. And it’s free!

The parade route begins on Howe and Drake, proceeds north on Howe to Georgia, and ends at Georgia & Granville Streets.

Filed under : 2011 Event by admin