07/19/2026
***Announcement from The North American Festival of Wales***
Take a Shot at Eisteddfod Competitions!
Can we draw some inspiration from basketball? Not only did this year’s NCAA tournaments and the NBA Finals provide some excitement, we’ll also soon be heading to this year’s host city for the The North American Festival of Wales… Springfield, MA, home of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame! As ever, it’s definitely worth a shot to bring your talents to this year’s Eisteddfod competitions!
So yes… registration for the competitions is LIVE at the Festival website; go directly to https://festivalofwales.org/eisteddfod.html for all pertinent information, competition guidelines and the online entry form. The deadline for entering all competitions, other than Limerick Composition, is August 29, 2026.
The Visual Arts competition solicits entries on a theme of "Heritage", with some relevance to Wales or Welsh history/culture. Your anonymous entry will be displayed at the Festival headquarters hotel (Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel) on Saturday, Sept. 5, and they’ll be adjudicated by a secret ballot public vote (one vote per person). You’ll provide a description and approximate dimensions of your work in the online entry form (by Aug. 29), then we’ll receive it for installation on Friday, Sept. 4.
The four stage competitions will be held on Saturday, Sept. 5 at the hotel with various start times between 12:00 and 2:30 PM, culminating in the major highlight of the Eisteddfod Winners' Concert at 4:00 PM.
The Solo Voice / Semi-Professional Competition, for the Welsh North America Prize is our signature competition. This offers an adjudicated winner a generous cash scholarship to compete in Wales in 2027, either at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in Powys, to compete in Welsh, or at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, to compete in any language. This is a fantastic opportunity for residents of the Americas, for singers with some professional training but whose income is derived only partially from performing.
Hymn Singing is also back, with a chance for you to perform any hymn of your choosing in Welsh.
Welsh and English Language Recitation once again each require memorization of a set piece; both are now directly linked at the Eisteddfod webpage. The Welsh set piece is “Ymson Ynghylch Amser” by R. Williams Parry and the English set piece is “A Blackbird Singing” by R.S. Thomas.
Finally, all Festival attendees are strongly encouraged to try out Limerick Composition... you'll sign up at the Festival itself, where you'll be given one or more first lines from which to craft your eloquent words!
Once again... head over to https://festivalofwales.org/eisteddfod.html for all the information you’ll need… and at any time please direct any and all of your questions to [email protected].
Are you ready to deliver a “slam dunk” in Springfield? Let’s see it, and definitely invite your family and friends to take a shot as well!
The North American Festival of Wales is held in a different location each year, in either the U.S. or Canada, to promote Welsh Culture. Organised by member volunteers of the Welsh North American Association.
