2011 Rio Grande Valley Celtic Festival & Highland Games

[Rob, ClanMacMillan, NM]

The 23rd Annual Rio Grande Valley Cetic Festival and Highland Games will be May 21-22, 2011 at Albuquerque's Balloon Fiesta Park in Albuquerque, NM.

Tickets: Adults: $10 for one day or $15 for both days. Children: $5 for one day or $7 for both days.

There will be Athletics, Piping Competitions, & Dance Competitions. In addition, there will be a British Car Show both days and the NM Strongest Man competition on Sunday May 22.

There will also be many vendors selling over priced stuff you just can't get anywhere else (or so it'll seem).

Of course, there'll also be the massive "all clans under one tent" tent. (Clan MacMillan, NM will not be represented there this year as I was too busy recovering from running my pickup over myself to do anything...maybe next year).

For more details, visit the web site at http://celtfestabq.com.

[Rob, ClanMacMillan, NM]

I will be there on Saturday (5/21) only this year -- not doing anything in particular -- just wandering around enjoying the sights and sounds and smells and stuff .

I'll be wearing the MacMillan Ancient "tank" and will also have the X-Marks dandelion in my glengarry -- assuming it arrives in time (it should). I may also stick some holly in the cap for the MacMillan connection but we'll see...

If you see me be sure to stop me and say "Hi".

Rob

[Rob, ClanMacMillan, NM]

The Rio Grande Celtic Festival seemed a bit subdued to me this year -- but maybe that was because I wasn't really up to a lot of walking around.

Here are some pictures:

Rob, Heather, & Elise.


Ghillie.


Kathy Lare, Kiltmaker Extraordinaire!


Alexander (son) and Elise (granddaughter) enjoying the music.


I looked but did not see any other XMTS folks -- was anyone else there?

Rob

[Burly Brute]

Beautiful mate, I didn't realize there was so much grass up that way. Or, was that a park?

Awesome pics!!

[mookien]

Rob: I bitterly regret not being able to attend my 1st RGVCF & HG. (They need to find a shorter name with a better acronym.) ;)

I was looking forward to meeting you and seeing Kathy. In a phone conversation earlier in the month I told her that I planned to attend.

But, as the Immortal Bard (Robert Burns anyway) wrote, "The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men Gang aft agley,".

We had been in Florida for three weeks and returned just before the games. I was buried under a veritable pile of obligations that took me some days to settle. I woke up Saturday morning and suddenly remembered.

Oh, well. There's always next year.

[Rob, ClanMacMillan, NM]

Beautiful mate, I didn't realize there was so much grass up that way. Or, was that a park?

Awesome pics!!

It's a park - of sorts. It's called Balloon Fiesta Park and it's where the annual balloon fiesta is held every October. This is a huge income/tourist draw for Albuquerque so they keep it all as nice as possible. The rest of the year, it's used for other events -- one of which, thankfully, is the Rio Grande Celtic Festival.

My dog Ghillie couldn't stop rolling around in the grass since it's something he never gets a chance to play in or on

Rob

[Rob, ClanMacMillan, NM]

Rob: I bitterly regret not being able to attend my 1st RGVCF & HG. (They need to find a shorter name with a better acronym.) ;)

Agreed!

Oh, well. There's always next year.

I'm already planning for it !

[MacMillans son]

That is a very nice venue Rob. I attended the Balloon Fiesta a few years ago and was quite impressed!

Unfortunate about the drop in attendance at your recent event though, hopefully just a short term reflection of the economy, and not a drop in local enthusiasm.

I completely agree with you on Kathy's kilt making skills, I have two of her creations, one in a custom run of Hunting Weathered and another in H.O.E Hunting Modern, and couldn't be more pleased.

If I make it back your way this Fall I'll be sure to look you up!

Best regards,
Brooke