BADIN — Honoring a traditional celebration that dates back to 11th century Scotland, the fifth-annual Loch Badin Celtic Festival is returning to Stanly County next month.
This year’s festivities are set for May 10 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Falls Road in Badin.
For nearly every year since 2018, Better Badin, Inc. has organized a free Celtic festival that has welcomed locals and drawn in visitors wanting to experience a selection of cultural activities, entertainment and vendors.
The event will include live music from Waynesville-based Celtic band Eireann’s Call and North Carolina State University Pipes and Drums band, along with raffles, prizes, various vendors and food trucks.
“We’re getting close to the time for the Loch Badin Celtic Festival to once again fill our community with the haunting sounds of the bagpipes — not to mention lots of kilts, Celtic music and dancing, clan tents, vendors, Highland cows and food/drink trucks,” Better Badin said in a promotional advertisement for the event. “Join us for a fun day immersing yourself in the Highland culture.”
Festivities also include performances from the Annadale Center for Scottish Dance and Royal Academy of Irish Dance. Historically, modern Highland dancing was created from the Gaelic folk dance repertoire and emerged in the 19th and 20th centuries.
During the middle of the day, the festival will host a performance from the NCSU Scottish bagpipe group — North Carolina’s oldest continuously-running pipes and drum band — which will lead into a Military Appreciation Council Parade with the help of the Scottish American Military Society.
Event attendees can also see the Highland cows brought by the Asheboro-based Cellar Creek Farm or do a shuttle tour of the Narrows Dam, which was built by Alcoa in 1917 as the world’s highest overflow type dam and the largest of any type dam in the state.
“Tours of the Narrows Dam will once again be offered on the day of the Loch Badin Celtic Festival,” Better Badin announced. “They are being sponsored by the Badin Historic Museum this year. Shuttles leave from the museum area starting at 8:30 a.m.”
Shuttle buses will leave at regular intervals from the Better Badin information tent on Falls Road and operate until 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 10 years of age and under.
Better Badin will be collecting festival proceeds to benefit Western North Carolina hurricane relief efforts; the nonprofit organization has operated since 1978 and has facilitated Badin’s community events and activities.