Ceílí Fun!
Festival photos by John DeJarnatt
2023 Highlights
Category Archives: Uncategorized
2022 Céilí Craic (crack) Collection
Celtic Craic (Fun-good time) for all in 2022! Céilí of the Valley Society hosted and participated in community events from Salem to Albany.
2022 Samhain Celtic New Year Festival
Céili of the Valley was delighted to host our Festival at the Willamette Heritage Center! The community was treated to live music, dancing, vendors, workshops, and cultural exhibits. Photos by John DeJarnnett.
Samhain Festival Soup Recipes
As promised, below are the yummy soup recipes from our Festival.
RECIPES for 50
Bubble and Squeak (Welsh)
12# chicken meat
9# potatoes (cooked & diced)
10 quarts chicken stock
8 cabbages (chopped=24 cups)
12 cloves garlic (diced)
2# onions (diced)
10# cooked diced ham
3# bacon (cooked & chopped)
4# cooked turnips (chopped)
2-3 cups water ( if needed)
Salt & pepper
—-adapted from cookbook; Celtic Folklore Cooking by Joanne Asala (1998)
Cock-a-leekie Soup (Scottish)
12# chicken meat
10 quarts chicken stock
36 leeks (chopped)
5 cups rice
5# pitted prunes
5 cups chopped parsley
3-5 cups water if needed
—adapted from cookbook; Celtic Folklore Cooking by Joanne Asala (1998)
Potato Soup (Irish)
1# butter
5 cups diced onions
5 cups diced scallions
15 cups peeled, diced potatoes
5 tsp salt
2 leaves of bay leaf
5 sprigs of each: fresh thyme, rosemary, parsley
4 1/2 quarts vegetable stock
5 cups whole milk
—-adapted from cookbook; The Ballymaloe Cookbook by Myrtle Allen (1989)
International Dance Day 2022
International Dance Day was on April 29, 2022. Céili of the Valley Society celebrated the next day at Salem’s Saturday Market. There was much merriment before the rain came down with audience members (young and younger) joining us in dances from different Celtic nations.
St. Patrick’s Day Parade 2022
With luck of the leprechaun, we had a beautiful day for the parade before the rain started! Willamette Valley Pipes & Drums led us in a parade through Salem 
Riverfront Park and downtown Salem.
Downtown Salem. 
Photo Finish! 
No Drama Llama Ceaser with Willamette Valley Pipes & Drums.
Samhain Celtic New Year Festival 2021
Céili of the Valley Society hosted their 6th annual Samhain Celtic New Year Festival celebrating the seven Celtic nations in October with a special focus on Scotland. This year was a hybrid festival that combined both four in-person live events, virtual events and on-line content.
The Festival opened up with a return to our first in-person ceili of the year at the VFW Hall. The Pan-Celtic was cultural opportunity to experience dancing dances from the different Celtic 
nations. Continuation of more in-person events included workshops: Native Plant Stories Connecting Oregon and Ireland and Celtic Harp Hands-On Workshop. Live concerts were Celtic Harps, Rare Instruments & Wondrous Stories and Scottish band, The Fire.
The Festival wrapped up with a virtual Whisky Tasting event with Bill Mullen. Bill gave a list of six whiskys that participants could purchase to taste and then Zoom in to learn about the origins, history, process, geography,of these whiskys.
Visit our website, celticfestival.info, for music from both local and international groups! Go on a journey from your armchair for cultural experiences that include: dance, historical sites, food and drinks. Also, visit and subscribe to the Samhain Festival YouTube channel.
The Festival was Supported by Transient Occupancy grant from the City of Salem, Marion Cultural Development Corporation, Real Systems, and The Summit Group of Oregon.
Pan-Celtic Ceili | October 2021
Our first in-person, indoor Céili back at our old stomping ground at the VFW Hall was in 
memory of our dear ceili friend, caller, and volunteer- Julie Cutler. This was one of Julie’s favorite ceili which she had fun finding dances for, organizing, and calling some of the dances.
We will miss her boisterous laugh that lit up the Hall!
Dancing Again! Happy Feet, Happy Dancers!
Welcome back Ceili Dancers!!! Céili of the Valley held their first in-person ceili in June. The ceili was held outdoor for our members and was a test ceili to work out our process. Fun was had by all and another outdoor ceili is scheduled for July.
Thanks to everyone that attended our experiment ceili! And special thanks to musicians Geraldine Murray and Zac Léger and our sound person Mark!
Finding Your Roots
Thanks to all that attended our Genealogy Workshop with presenter, Douglas H. Crosby of the Willamette Valley Genealogical Society. 
In this May 2021 workshop, Douglas covered the basics of genealogy and tools for exploring your family ancestry.