2019 Radford Highlanders Festival:

Date: October 12, 2019
Time: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Venue: Moffett Field (Radford University)
Organizations: City of Radford, CrossBow, Mist on the Mountain, PanJammers, Scythian, The Boatmen
Description: Radford University and the City of Radford present the 23rd Radford Highlanders Festival on Saturday, October 12, 2019 at Radford University's Moffett Lawn.

Schedule of Events:
• 9:30 am: Virginia Highlands Pipes & Drums
• 10:00 am - 4:00 pm: Highland Cattle and Children's Fun
• 10:30 am: Appalachian Highlanders Pipes & Drums
• 11:00 am: Braveheart 5k (Dedmon Center)
• 11:00 am - 3:00 pm: Student Celtic Games
• 12:00 pm: Parade and Grand Entry & Massed Band Performance

The Radford Highlanders Festival returns to the Radford University campus and brings together Scottish Highland Games, Celtic music, massed pipe and drum band performance, Scottish clan march, sheepherding demonstrations, craft and food vendors and family friendly entertainment for festival lovers of all ages.

The lawn of Moffett quad will turn into an open-air extravaganza featuring artists, vendors, craftspeople and community organizations. Start holiday shopping early or treat yourself to something special from one of the many vendors with a diverse and interesting set of clothing, accessories, jewelry and crafts.

Music will be headlined by this year by Scythian and Crossbow.

Highlander Stage Schedule (Moffett Lawn):
• 11:15 am: CrossBow
• 12:30 pm: Scythian
• 1:30 pm: CrossBow
• 2:30 pm: Scythian
• 3:30 pm: CrossBow
• 4:15 pm: Scythian

Tartan Stage Schedule (Heth Lawn):
• 9:30 am: Brian Coughlan
• 10:15 am: Radford University Highlanders Pipes and Drums
• 10:35 am: Brian Coughlan
• 11:15 am: Porterfield Ensemble “We Are From Her: Fierce Girls, Wise Women, and Strong Sisters”
• 12:30 pm: PanJammers Steel Drum Orchestra
• 1:30 pm: Mist on the Mountain
• 3:30 pm: The Boatmen

Washington DC-based Scythian (sith-ee-yin) began over 12 years ago as a bunch of college buddies playing Celtic music in the streets and has grown to be a headliner on the US Celtic Festival Circuit as well as a name in the Bluegrass/Americana Festival Circuit. They found that their brand of high-energy folk music found a resonance that led The Washington Post to state: “Scythian’s enthusiasm is contagious, and shows seem to end with everyone dancing, jumping around or hoisting glasses.”
For over 12 years they have found success as an independent band and have played over 1,300 shows all over the united states, Europe, Canada and as far aways as Australia.

Founded by brothers Alexander and Danylo Fedoryka who are first-generation sons of Ukrainian immigrants, Scythian from the start has been a search and love for the "old time, good time music" of many cultures. They were inspired by a tale told by their 92-year-old grandmother of a roving fiddler who came into her farming village every six months or so. Once he was spotted, messengers were sent to all the outlying fields and mills and worked ceased; everyone gathered in the barn where they danced all night and danced their cares away. This spirit is what has motivated Scythian from its inception and their success as an independent band is due largely to their finding a resonance of soul amongst kindred spirits that span all ages and races. This spirit took them from the streets to playing for the US president on St. Patrick's Day and its the enthusiastic response they receive that has made each of their 1,300+ shows unique.

THE calling card of Scythian is their ability to engage their audience no matter the venue or circumstance and truly every Scythian shows ends with people dancing, smiling and covered with sweat. This is best summed up by The Camel-City Dispatch (Winston-Salem, North Carolina): “[Scythian gives] no quarter in their quest to entertain and bring a joy to their music that gives it an irony-free, wide open feel of manic possibility. The playing is technically brilliant, but it is the energy that carries the day."

Links:

• https://www.scythianmusic.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/scythian
• https://www.twitter.com/scythianmusic
• https://www.youtube.com/user/scythianmusic
• https://www.instagram.com/scythianmusic/

CrossBow is a high-energy Celtic band based in Southeast Michigan and has had the pleasure of sharing their distinct sound to a wide variety of audiences. The dynamic group initially met at Grand Valley State University as students and young musicians where they founded one of campus' first Celtic music organizations. CrossBow has made a home in the beloved Irish and Scottish music community and has been featured all over the Midwest.

While CrossBow can be heard at Irish and Scottish music festivals across the country, much of the thrill in experiencing a CrossBow performance actually transcends the music itself. This excitement stems from the contagious joy and camaraderie shared between the players, and communicated directly with their audience. Apparent from the moment they hit the stage – these high-energy musicians naturally feed off of one another, creating a dynamic, wholly unique performance that shouldn’t be missed.

Links:

• https://www.xbowmusic.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/Crossbowmusic
• https://www.youtube.com/user/CrossBowmusic/videos
• https://www.instagram.com/crossbowband/

Over the past 20+ years, the festival has more than tripled in size, and now attracts an estimated crowd of 10,000 people. Whether a family’s background is of Scots-Irish origin or of other descent, the day always brings with it an air of excitement and anticipation. There is no place more beautiful than Southwest Virginia in autumn and the Blue Ridge Mountains provide a beautiful back-drop for the fall festival.

Admission is free and and all are welcome.

The festival is a joint partnership with the City of Radford and Radford University.

Vendors can apply to attend the festival at https://www.radford.edu/content/festival/home/vendors.html.

For more information, visit: http://www.radford.edu/content/festival/home.html or https://www.facebook.com/RadfordHighlandersFestival/ or call 540-831-6255.