Thousands of folks made their way to downtown Woodland’s Main Street this past weekend to take in the NorCal Celtic Festival, a celebration of Scottish, Welsh and Irish culture.

Saturday’s and Sunday’s jamboree was filled with many events dedicated to honoring Celtic culture, ranging from a traditional Highland dancing competition to Woodland’s own Highland Games Heavy Athletics competition. Other events also included pipe bands, solo piping and drumming, drum majors, beer garden, vendors and more.

The NorCal Celtic Festival also held the Sacramento Valley Championships, showcasing the skills and athleticism of dancers while celebrating Scottish heritage. A “Highland Dance Championship” and a “Highland Dance Competition” both refer to events where Highland dancers perform and are judged on their skills and abilities.

Dances are set to traditional Scottish music such as Strathspeys, Reels, Hornpipes, and Jigs all played by an accompanying bagpiper. The traditional dances are made up of intricate parts, called steps, with each dance usually consisting of four to six steps.

Saturday’s competition included contestants from a wide range of backgrounds — from seven-year-old girls participating in their first contest to seasoned veterans who have been performing Highland Dancing for decades.

Main Street was lined with various vendors offering a plethora of goods. Some things sold included specific services, such as tarot card readings, while other booths opted to sell physical goods such as Welsh cookies and Scottish clan merchandise.

One of the biggest events of the weekend, however, was the Heavy Athletics events, where folks from all around the globe competed to place in competitions ranging from the caber toss (a Scottish athletic event where competitors attempt to flip a large, heavy log end over end so that it lands in a specific, straight line) to classic shot put.

The Young Dubliners — a leading Celtic Rock band — performed at the festival’s “main stage” at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday at 701 Main St. The band has released nine albums and appeared on shows like ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live. They performed some of their songs from across nine albums at Saturday’s show such as ‘Brown Dog’ and ‘We the Mighty.’

Major sponsors included the Woodland Hoteliers Group, Visit Woodland, Pipes Pubs and ScotDance Sacramento.

For more information about the NorCal Celtic Festival and other celebrations, visit Visti Woodland’s website at https://visitwoodland.com/.