The Celtic Village used to be one of the main attractions at Vancouver’s annual CelticFest festival during the week of St. Patrick’s Day in mid-March each year.
The Celtic Village event no long happens, but CelticFest does, and CelticFest activities still occur most years in the plaza outside the Vancouver Art Gallery. Those activities are similar to what happened at the Celtic Village. It’s just not called that anymore.
To learn about Celtic Village from a few years ago, continue reading. To learn about what happens at the festival in more modern times, see our article about CelticFest Vancouver.
Celtic Village at CelticFest
The Celtic Village was part of CelticFest which is a multi-day event celebrating St. Patrick’s Day and everything Irish in Vancouver.
Note: A scaled-back version of CelticFest happened in 2020. The Celtic Village, however, wasn’t part of it (nor has it been for the last few years).
Where and What
In years when it did occur, the Celtic Village was a street party-style event that took place at Robson Square and in the Vancouver Art Gallery Plaza, so around the 800 block of Robson Street.
In previous years, up until 2016, the Celtic Village took place along the two blocks of Granville Street between Robson and Nelson, which was nice, but challenging for downtown traffic. The larger and more open Robson Square venue was new for 2017.
When was CelticFest and the Celtic Village
In 2017 CelticFest ran from March 10th until the 18th and the Celtic Village part of the festival happened on the Friday and Saturday of the last weekend. In 2018 CelticFest had a small number of events happening on February 15th to 17th.
The last year that it happened the Celtic Village was open from noon until 11 pm on St. Patrick’s Day (Friday, March 17th) as well as on Saturday, March 18th. In 2018 the Celtic Village didn’t happen, and it hasn’t taken place since either.
There was still the annual Celtic Village in 2017, although it was in a new location. There was also the usual selection of live entertainment offerings, Irish dinners and St. Patrick’s events at various pubs and restaurants around town. Both 2018 and 2019 were similar but with no Celtic Village and fewer activities. In 2019 CelticFest ran from Sunday, February 22nd, until Saturday, March 17th.
Admission to the Celtic Village
When it happened, admission to the Celtic Village was usually FREE from 12 pm to 7 pm on both days, but $10 for anyone arriving after 7.
What Happened at the Celtic Village?
At the Celtic Village there was music, dancing and lots of market stalls and food trucks. There was live entertainment throughout the day on both days. Below is the performance lineup for 2017.
March 17, 2017
- 2:00 pm – Jocelyn Pettit: the West Coast fiddler performed at Robson Square on the Hornby Stage.
- 2:30 pm – Eire Born Irish Dance Performance Company: dancers from the Nora Pickett Irish Dance Academy performed on the car2go Stage.
- 3:00 pm – Jocelyn Pettit: the West Coast fiddler performed again on the Hornby Stage.
- 4:00 pm – The Wheat In The Barley: performed on the Robson Square Stage.
- 4:30 pm – Eire Born Irish Dance Performance Company: performed again on the car2go Stage.
- 5:30 pm – Jocelyn Pettit: the West Coast fiddler performed at Robson Square on the car2go Stage.
- 6:30 pm – Pat Chessell Band: the Celtic folk group performed at Robson Square on the Hornby Stage (to be confirmed).
- 6:30 pm – SFU Pipe Band: performed at the Celtic Village at Robson Square on the Hornby Stage (to be confirmed).
- 8:30 pm – Pat Chessell Band: the Celtic folk group performed on the Robson Square Stage.
- 9:45 pm – Delhi 2 Dublin: finished the night on the Robson Square Stage.
March 18, 2017
- 11:00 am & 12:00 pm – The Wheat In The Barley: performed at Robson Square on the Hornby Stage.
- 12:30 pm – Eire Born Irish Dance Performance Company: performed on the car2go Stage.
- 1:30 pm – Bad To The Bow: performed on the car2go Stage.
- 2:00 pm – Eire Born Irish Dance Performance Company: performed on the Robson Square Stage.
- 3:30 pm – Pat Chessell Band: the Celtic folk group performed on the car2go Stage.
- 4:00 pm – Jocelyn Pettit: the West Coast fiddler performed again on the Robson Square Stage
- 5:30 pm – North Shore Celtic Ensemble: the troupe of young fiddlers performed on the Robson Square Stage.
- 8:30 pm – Tiller’s Folly: the popular Celtic group performed on the Robson Square Stage.
- 10:00 pm – The Paperboys: the Vancouver folk rock band finished the night on the Robson Square Stage.
Other Information
To learn more about the Irish-themed festival, click Vancouver CelticFest.