The International Celtic Music Festival makes its bow in Puerto Vallarta on Friday, March 21 and Saturday, March 22.
Organizers say this year’s inaugural festival is a “taster” for a much larger bash planned next year, running over several days.
The festival kicks off on March 21, with a parade of pipe bands along the Vallarta malecon (promenade) at 6 p.m. The bands will then give impromptu street performances in the downtown zone.
All this is a prelude to the main action on March 22, which begins with an opening ceremony at the Sheraton Buganvilias Hotel at 5 p.m. At 5:30 p.m. a series of bands and Gaelic dance troupes from Mexico and abroad will perform. They include Shamrock, the Edmonton (Canada) Transit Pipe Band, the Bradigan Irish Dance School, the Ogham the Ensemble, Asociación Cultural de Galicia en México, Alba’s Edge and the bagpipes of the Batallón de San Patricio (Saint Patrick’s Battalion) from Mexico City.
A ceilidh, a traditional Gaelic social gathering with folk music and dancing, begins at 9:50 p.m.
Tickets for the concert and the ceilidh cost 250 pesos each, or 400 pesos as a package. For more information and registration, visit www.fimcmexico.com.mx.