Pipes, punk and tradition
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 months, 3 weeks AGO
Kilmaine Saints, a Celtic folk-punk band from Pennsylvania, will headline the second annual Cascade Celtic Festival in Leavenworth May 2.
COURTESY PHOTO/KILMAINE SAINTS
An Daire Academy of Irish Dance, shown here performing at the Quincy Food Bank fundraiser in February, will perform at the Cascade Celtic Festival May 1-3.
The Surly Goats, based in Seattle, will be one of many Northwest Celtic bands performing at the Cascade Celtic Festival May 103 in Leavenworth.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | April 17, 2026 3:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — The pipes will skirl and the fiddles will ring out at the Cascade Celtic Festival in Leavenworth May 1-3.
“Building on the success of its inaugural year, the 2026 festival expands its programming, deepens its cultural partnerships, and welcomes visitors for a full weekend of music, dance, storytelling, artisan craft, and community connection,” Festival President Alice Cloutier wrote in a press release announcing the festival.
The festival will feature traditional – and not-so-traditional – Scottish and Irish music by more than 20 artists, many from Washington but also coming from Northern Ireland and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. There are also dance troupes from the Northwest and beyond, showing fancy footwork to Celtic strains. Three stages will showcase everything from traditional pipe and drum bands to high-energy Celtic punk rock.
The Friday headliner will be Blaggards, out of Houston, Texas, performing a Celtic-rock fusion they call “stout Irish rock,” mixing traditional influences with hard-edged styles reminiscent of Thin Lizzy, the Wolfe Tones and Black Sabbath, according to their promotional materials.
Headlining Saturday are the Kilmaine Saints, a folk-punk band from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania that bills itself as equal parts Irish swagger, Scottish pride and whiskey.
“This explosive, high-energy Celtic rock band from Central Pennsylvania will lift your hearts, your spirits, and your pint when you’re not looking,” the band wrote in its promotional materials.
More home-grown musical talent will take the stage as well, including Washington artists Ockham’s Razor, Stout Pounders, Whiskey and Brine, Rabbits’ Rebellion, Raising Slane, the Surly Goats, Stark Raving Plaid and Erin McNamee. The Seattle Firefighters Pipes & Drum Band and the Tacoma Scots Pipe Band will bring a more traditional sound.
Among several dance troupes will be Wenatchee dancers An Daire Academy of Irish Dance, which also performed at the Quincy Food Bank’s auction Feb. 28.
Besides the entertainment, the event will feature cultural workshops for beginners and experienced players of fiddle, tin whistle and bodhran, a handheld Celtic drum. Dance workshops for all skill levels in Irish dance will be featured as well.
“The Cascade Celtic Festival is about more than entertainment — it’s about honoring the living traditions of Celtic culture and creating a welcoming space where community and heritage meet,” Cloutier wrote.
Cascade Celtic Festival
May 1-3
Leavenworth Festhalle
1001 Front St.
An Daire Academy of Irish Dance, shown here performing at the Quincy Food Bank fundraiser in February, will perform at the Cascade Celtic Festival May 1-3.
The Surly Goats, based in Seattle, will be one of many Northwest Celtic bands performing at the Cascade Celtic Festival May 103 in Leavenworth.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.