By Kyle LoJacono
Staff Writer
ZEPHYRHILLS — Each year crowds of thousands from across the state attend the Zephyrhills Celtic Festival and Highland Games to celebrate their culture.
“It’s great for people familiar with the culture or for those just learning about it,” said Steve Serneels, president and founder of the event. “I can’t think of any other place I’d rather be on the first Saturday in March each year.”
The 2010 festival, which is 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. March 6 and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 7, will be celebrating its 10th anniversary and organizers are planning something different for the occasion. The event’s parade, which was traditionally on Saturday, will now be Friday March 5.
“That is a special treat to everyone who has come out and supported us for the first nine years of doing the festival,” said Rhonda Taylor, festival coordinator. “We thought it would be easier for people to enjoy all the festivities of the weekend if we had the parade the day before. It’s also a nice change of pace.”
Taylor has coordinated the event for the past few years.
“The parade will start at 7 p.m. on Fifth Avenue and go from 12th Street to Seventh Street,” Serneels said. “Afterward we’ll be having a street party with some Celtic rock bands and food and drinks in downtown at the Times Square pavilion.”
Serneels said about 6,000 people will attend the two-day festival at Zephyr Park.
“It’s in Zephyrhills, but I’d say more people come from out of town than from in town,” he said. “These kinds of Celtic festivals draw people from around the country.”
The weekend event will include attractions ranging from children’s games to a highland dance competition.
“I think the highlight of the festival is the highland games,” Serneels said. “I really like the sheaf toss where they throw sacks of straw over a bar. The caber toss is also very interesting. They take a huge log and try and flip them straight over so that it doesn’t turn at all.”
For a complete list of the highland games, visit www.zephyrhillscelticfestival.com and click the athletics link.
There will also be a British and European car show with between 100 and 200 cars of all ages.
“I personally like the band competition because I just love bagpipe music,” Taylor said. “I loved bagpipes the first time I heard them.”
Serneels is the founder of the Tampa Bay Pipes & Drums group that will be playing at the festival. Taylor’s three children are members of the band.
Besides the planned events, the festival acts as a way for people to connect with their traditional Celtic background. One famous Zephyrhills resident who will be a part of the gathering is Mayor Cliff McDuffie, who is the Macfie Clan coordinator for the entire southeastern United States.
“I was on the festival’s committee before I became mayor eight years ago and I love going to it each year,” McDuffie said. “We’ll have a tent set up and we’ll be answering questions about the clan.”
McDuffie said there are about 20 or 30 different Celtic names associated with his clan. There were traditionally seven Celtic nations, which included: Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Cornwall, Galicia and Asturias, Isle of Man and Brittany. Today the term Celtic generally applies to anyone from Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
The cost for adults at the festival is $7 a day and children 12-years-old or younger get in for free. Parking is also free and a shuttle will be available to accommodate the crowds.
“I think the festival is something anyone can enjoy regardless of heritage,” Serneels said. “I’m mostly Scottish and Irish, but I have other European heritage too. Even though I’m not 100 percent Celtic, I still love the culture. The festival gives people a new look at Celtic heritage they won’t get in traditional media.”
IF YOU GO
What 10th annual Zephyrhills Celtic Festival and Highland Games
- When March 6 and 7
- Where Zephyr Park in Zephyrhills
- Admission Adults $7, kids 12 and younger free
- www.zephyrhillscelticfestival.com
