If you’ve ever wanted to invade a field with a hurley in pursuit of a sliotar, you’ll soon have your chance.
The game — called hurling and played with a curved stick used to whack a ball through the air — will be among the new additions to the Maine Celtic Celebration when it returns to the Belfast waterfront later this month. Also new this year is Gaelic football, which is like a cross between soccer and American football.
Hurling in particular can sometimes get a little “brutal,” said Maine Celtic Celebration Vice President Michele Cooklin.
“It’s like hockey with the ball in the air, sort of like lacrosse, really rough sports,” Cooklin said.
Players from the Portland Gaelic Athletic Association will play a demonstration match of hurling, as well as a game of Gaelic football.
After the matches, players will stick around to instruct festival goers who want to give either sport a try. That’ll take place inside a 10 by 30 foot net tunnel, so people can let loose without fear of smacking a ball into onlookers, Cooklin said.
This year marks the 17th annual Maine Celtic Celebration. The event returned to Belfast in 2022 after being canceled the previous two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
T he National Cheese Roll Championship also returns this year as part of the celebration. Participants line up at the top of the hill at Belfast Common and sprint down after a wheel of cheese – whoever catches it first wins, said Christine Murphy, president of the Maine Celtic Celebration.
The traditional highland games will take place on Sunday, where participants partake in events like hammer throwing, the stone put and the caber toss, where participants compete to see who can flip a log end-over-end the furthest.
Despite sounding pretty competitive, Cooklin says it’s really more of an opportunity for anyone to try out some of the traditional games.
“If it’s something that you’ve ever wanted to try, you can do that here,” Cooklin said.
And if you’re not into heavy lifting, organizers said the other activities, like the kilt wearing contest and fundraiser, the medieval artisan village created by the Society for Creative Anachronism and Saturday night’s fireworks will get people in the celtic spirit.
“We try to entertain everyone,” Cooklin said.
This year, the Maine Celtic Celebration is also using grant funding from the New England Foundation for the Arts to host handicap accessible music events at Steamboat Landing, including a senior sing along led by the fiddle and guitar singing duo Stanley and Grimm, Murphy said.
Celebrations kick off at 4 p.m. Friday, highlighting local musicians that will give a pub music feeling as people congregate and head to the main stage, Murphy said.
Fourteen musical performers will entertain crowds at the event’s two stages throughout the weekend, and there are 20 participating vendors selling everything from gourmet egg rolls to handmade ceramics featuring celtic designs to succulents and tarot cards.
The long running Maine Celtic Celebration in Belfast will take place Friday, July 21 through Sunday, July 23. Admission is free for all events except the Highland Heavy Games, which cost $15 to enter.
