I for Ingram

 

I have already mentioned Ingram and its annual Celtic Festival in one of my previous posts. Their stone circle (Stonehenge II), a copy of the one in England, was constructed in 2011.

It is situated in a pretty area, with the Guadalupe River and an open-air theater nearby. The Visual Art Center and a souvenir store are there as well.

Next year, on April 8, a total solar eclipse will be celebrated at Stonehenge II. The eclipse will be in the path of the stone circle, so you can observe the occurrence at the site. Be sure to bring special protective-type glasses (sunglasses are NO good for that) to keep your eyes safe.

The next Celtic Festival is going to be there on April 29. It used to be an all-weekend-long event. After the covid-time break, the festival was turned into a one-day affair. We preferred the previous version, though. You could see more during the three days and enjoy it more than just in one day. You are simply not able to watch everything at the same time.

On September 23/24, 2023, Texas State Arts and Crafts Fair takes place there.

When you come to visit the site, do not miss the copies of the Easter Island heads. You can find them at the parking lot, within walking distance from Stonehenge II.

To learn more about the place and the planned events, visit the website: http://www.hcaf.com/stonehenge-ii/ .

Click here to see an earlier post that I made after our visit to the Celtic Festival in Ingram.

Celtic Festival in Ingram

Our Scottish genes took us to the Kerr County Celtic Festival, which was held in Ingram, TX. This year's edition of the event was a one-day thing only (contrary to the weekend-long festival two years ago).

We watched the sports tournament - well, we tried to see it, but no benches with leveled seat rows (as they had there before) + people covering the sight made it difficult since three competitions were going on simultaneously.

Nevertheless, we did enjoy it all, not only sports but also traditional Scottish music and dances.

San Antonio Pipes and Drums

 

One of the dance schools from San Antonio had a showcase with Scottish dances presentation.

Only in Texas you can camp and relax within the Stonehenge area.

Camping at Stonehenge, enjoying the showcase

The statues there are a good sight for taking pictures.

My Texas Alphabet: N for NTIF

The idea for this alphabet post series comes from ' The Alphabet of My Emigration' by Dee Dorota L., member of The Polish Ladies Abroad Club, who has relocated to England.
I have also decided to join the project and write about My Texas Alphabet twice a week.

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NTIF stands for North Texas Irish Festival. It is a holiday of Celtic music and Irish culture, which has been organized annually since 1983, during the first weekend of March. The Festival is the largest Irish festivity in the southwest of the USA and, also, the second biggest one in the States.

The Irish Festival has quite a special meaning in my Texas Alphabet: my husband and I found each other thanks to our mutual interest in the Irish music.

Every year NTIF is held at the grounds of the State Fair in Dallas. I am really happy we can enjoy it together - with our family also. We like going there - to listen to traditional and modern Irish music and watch various kinds of musicians and dancers on the Festival stages. There are always plenty of attractions for everyone: (considering music) from old style Celtic bands, storytellers, Irish tap dancers and bagpipers to contemporary rock groups. Besides, there are stalls with Irish (and not only) cuisine and all kinds of stuff and souvenirs - Celtic ones and much more. Among others, our favorite spot is the 'rescue dog' section, where you can admire dogs of different breeds (and, possibly, take home/get one of them).

We usually walk around the festival area and visit most of the stages which are situated in different parts of Fair Park. Since numerous performers dance and sing on them at the same time, it is not possible to see each and every artist. We try to make the most of it following the Festival schedule. Sometimes, it is difficult to choose what we would want to see as we are not able to be at two stages at the same time. However, one of our favorite Texas Celtic bands is Cleghorn.


The weather does not always cooperate and sometimes it happens to be cold at the time of the Festival. Last year, to our disappointment, it was too frosty to enjoy the outside entertainment. The weather conditions made us skip our annual North Texas Irish Celebrations. Hopefully, next year, we will be able to experience the Festival again. We certainly look forward to it.

More info:
North Texas Irish Festival website ,
Cleghorn website.

Other 'N' entries by Polish Ladies Abroad:

Jagoda / N jak Neaopol 
Gabi / N for No // N jak Nie
Dee Dorota / N jak Normalnosć