FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                               

Contact: Ninon Parker, Belle Mont Site Director  

bellemontmansion@gmail.com, 256-710-9081

March 14, 2022

Belle Mont Celtic Festival, May 14, 2022

(Tuscumbia, AL) Celtic music coming to The Shoals!

Are you ready for some bright and vibrant Celtic music? Be sure and join us as we host the Belle Mont Celtic Festival on May 14, 2022. The concert will be held on the grounds of historic Belle Mont Mansion and feature Celtic artists such as Ed Miller, The Piper Jones Band (featuring bagpiper E.J. Jones), and Chambless and Muse. Additionally, folklorist and author Joyce Cauthen will be joined by her husband, Jim Cauthen, to perform in courtyard, playing fiddle melodies.

Ninon Parker, site director of Belle Mont said that hosting a Celtic event has been a special desire for the museum for a very long time.  “We are so excited to be bringing a festival of this quality to the Shoals area. The musicians are truly world-class! The Belle Mont setting is perfect for an outdoor concert and the historical significance of the Scottish heritage of people for whom Belle Mont was built in the early 1800’s adds a special meaning to bringing tunes from Scotland and Ireland to this site.”

The festival will include crafts, life-skill demonstrators, activities for children, food and Celtic merchandise vendors. Gates open at 8:00 a.m., events will begin at 10:00 a.m. and will close near dusk.  Participants are welcome to bring lawn chairs and/or blankets.

Tickets are available in advance through Eventbrite or by calling Belle Mont at 256-381-5052 to pay by credit card.  Advance tickets are $15.00 for adults, $5.00 for youths 12-18 years, and free for children under 12 years of age.  On the day of the festival, admission at the gate will be cash preferred at $20 for adults, with youth prices at $5.00 and children under 12 years free.  Tickets include admission to the historic museum. In case of severe weather, the festival will move to the Roundhouse at the Tuscumbia Railway Depot, 204 W. 5^th St., Tuscumbia.

On Friday, May 13, two free pre-festival events at Belle Mont will serve as a kick-off to the Celtic Fest.  At 11:00 a.m. a panel discussion describing the trends of Scots Irish migration into the Tennessee Valley and the influence of their settlement in early Alabama will be led by Dr. Carrie Barske-Crawford, Executive Director of the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area, and Professor of Public History at the University of North Alabama.  A demonstration and showing of Gordon Setters will take place at 1:00 p.m.  This canine breed was originally developed in Scotland to aid in the flushing of birds from the fields. 

Belle Mont Celtic Fest is made possible through the generous support of the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the Daniel Foundation, the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area and by patrons of Celtic Arts. The festival is sponsored by the Colbert County Historical Landmarks Foundation, the Alabama Historical Commission and Belle Mont Mansion. Belle Mont is located south of Tuscumbia in Colbert County in northwest Alabama. The address is 1569 Cook Lane, Tuscumbia, Alabama 35674.

Belle Mont is owned by Alabama Historical Commission and operated by the Colbert County Historical Landmarks Foundation.

About Belle Mont

Located just outside Tuscumbia in Colbert County, the mansion is one of a few Palladian-style houses in the Deep South. This style stems from the neoclassical architectural design of Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. Belle Mont Mansion is a singularly fine example of Jeffersonian – Palladian architecture built circa 1828.

About the Alabama Historical Commission

Located in historic downtown Montgomery at 468 S. Perry Street, the Alabama Historical Commission is the state historic preservation agency for Alabama. The agency was created by an act of the state legislature in 1966 with a mission to protect, preserve and interpret Alabama’s historic places. AHC works to accomplish its mission through two fields of endeavor: Preservation and promotion of state-owned historic sites as public attractions; and statewide programs to assist people, groups, towns, and cities with local preservation activities. For a complete list of programs and properties owned and operated by the AHC, hours of operation, and admission fees please visit ahc.alabama.gov