Local Celts clad in traditional clothing gathered underneath the hot, mid-afternoon sun to share music, food and traditions at the Festival of Lugh in Eugene’s Buford Park on Sunday.
Lughnasdh, or the Festival of Lugh, is a time of thanksgiving and reverence to the land for people who continue to celebrate Celtic traditions.
In Celtic legend, Lugh, skilled in all arts and the controller of summer, held the festival in honor of his foster mother who died preparing the land. All clans gathered to compete in games and contests to release their aggressions instead of going to war.
Eugene’s An Ceangal Mara Foundation, meaning “the linking sea” in Gaelic, has put on Lughnasdh for the past four years. This year’s events included a pie contest, a slingshot range, a chess tournament and live music.
Sonya Black, one of the organizers of Lughnasdh, said she enjoys teaching people about Celtic culture because it helps them understand a part of their heritage that is often forgotten.
Faeron Simpson, who said he wears his kilt with no underwear, served some traditional highland tamales.
“Why not?” he said. “I run the 1645 Tamale booth because no one can dispute the fact that they didn’t serve tamales then.”
Later he played a traditional tune on his short pipes, a type of bagpipe. He’s been playing the pipes for more than 40 years.
“Every day I learn more and more what it means to be Celtic,” said Deon Black as he manned the pie booth. “I’ve found where my family came from.”