Springfield Area Highland Games and Celtic Festival

Springfield Area Highland Games and Celtic Festival Welcome to Central Illinois' Home for the Highland Games! The Springfield Area Highland Games and Celtic Festival is an event of the St.

Celebrate Celtic culture with Ancient Athletics, Highland Dance, Bagpipes, Clan Row, Heritage History & Gaelic Lessons, Live Entertainment, Food, Shopping, Livestock, British Car Show, and more! Andrew's Society of Central Illinois. The Society is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to keeping Celtic traditions alive. Our membership works tirelessly to teach our culture to future generations and to e

ducate the community about all things Celtic. The Springfield Area Highland Games is just one way we do that. The Springfield Area Highland Games and Celtic Festival had its humble beginning at Knight's Action Park 16 years ago, when members of the St. Andrew's Society saw an opportunity to bring a traditional Highland event to Central Illinois. Thanks to the hard work of those original organizers, the event quickly outgrew the park and was moved to the Illinois State Fairgrounds, where it was held for several years. In 2010, the Springfield Area Highland Games moved to the nearby city of Chatham, at the Chatham Community Park, where it is held today. The Games features competitions for Highland dancers, individual pipers and drummers, bagpipe bands, and athletes. Over the years, the competition has grown from just five bagpipe bands to as many as 18; from just 30 dancers to 90; and from only 10 athletes to almost 100. Competitors come from across the Midwest and from all corners of the country. In addition to competitive events, the festival features many demonstrations throughout the day, including storytelling, music, animal exhibits, a large children's area, and much, much more. There are also several merchandise and food vendors, many of which will be showcasing Scottish and Irish goods. Each year, some of the funds raised from the Springfield Highland Games and Celtic Festival are returned to the community.

03/14/2026

We are ready for the 2026 St. Patrick’s Day Parade!!!! ☘️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇪☘️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇪

Springfield, IL - 2026 St. Patrick’s Day Parade information ☘️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇪
03/11/2026

Springfield, IL - 2026 St. Patrick’s Day Parade information ☘️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇪

Ahhh there’s nothing like the pipes on St. Patrick’s Day!! ☘️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇪
03/09/2026

Ahhh there’s nothing like the pipes on St. Patrick’s Day!! ☘️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇪

01/23/2026

ATTENTION! 🚨

Due to the impending severe winter weather, the Society Board has unanimously decided to reschedule our Robert Burns Dinner for Saturday, January 31st. The safety of our guests, performers, and venue employees is of most importance and we appreciate your understanding.

What does this mean?

Good News!! We are opening ticket sales back up to those interested in attending our event next weekend. The ticket sale link is live in the comments! We hope you will join us! Additional ticket purchases must be received no later than 8:00pm on Monday, January 26th. Admission Only tickets will be available up until the event.

If you are unable to attend, please email [email protected] for a full refund of your tickets. Your refund will be processed in the order the requests are received.

We are thrilled to celebrate with you and we hope to see you next weekend! Stay warm and stay safe!!

Sincerely,
2026 St. Andrew's Society of Central Illinois Board

Mark your calendars!!! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇨🇮🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿To get involved with this year’s planning, please email SAHG.notify@gmail.com
01/21/2026

Mark your calendars!!! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇨🇮🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

To get involved with this year’s planning, please email [email protected]

01/20/2026

Grab your tickets lads and lassies! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Join the St. Andrews Society of Central Illinois for Robbie Burns night in Springfield, IL! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
01/14/2026

Join the St. Andrews Society of Central Illinois for Robbie Burns night in Springfield, IL! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Reminder: grab your Burns tickets now!! Open to the public - please share with your community!

Semi-formal event. Kilts & Period Dress are encouraged. Celebrate the Bard of Scotland's 267th birthday with a full evening of dinner, toasts, haggis and poetry!

Purchase Tickets Here: https://springfield-area-highland-games-st-andrews-society-of-centra.square.site/s/shop?fbclid=IwY2xjawPJkxhleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFGbzJiTzh1dUdQNmFUSWdvc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPNTE0NzcxNTY5MjI4MDYxAAEexFkRlMpfLHcE0CGAHrRXDq-cUdMc6793-a9x_rp6attlecY-CWU1OP73aBg_aem_L6yvAo8NdQEIjG6K-SlzuA
Doors Open at 5:30pm
Piping of the Haggis at 6:30pm
Event ends at 10:00pm

Dinner Options:
Roast Beef
Chicken
Cock-A-Leekie Soup
*all meals include a side salad, Scotch egg, Neeps & Tatties, and a dinner roll.

Kids Meal: To Be Determined
Cash Bar available.

Activities Include:
Traditional Burns Toasts & Poetry
Haggis Tasting and Spoon
Silent Auction
Bonniest Knees Contest
Ceilidh Dancing with international folk dancers
Bagpipes Performance
Live Entertainment from the Rick Dunham and friends
Kids Area

Membership Pricing is for registered members of the St. Andrew's Society of Central Illinois for 2026.

11/29/2025
11/23/2025

Congratulations to the new 2026 St. Andrew’s Society of Central Illinois Board of Directors!!

From left to right:
Martin Woulfe- Member at Large
Amber Rowe - Secretary
Teresa Pisula - Member at Large
Jordan Thomas-Summers - President
Mitch Henderson - Member at Large
Bull Henderson - Treasurer
Erica Thieman - Vice President
Vince Henderson - Membership Coordinator

Last call for RSVPs!
11/16/2025

Last call for RSVPs!

RSVPs are due by Monday, November 17th!! Get yours sent in today!

Join us for the Annual Meeting on Saturday, November 22nd!

This is the perfect opportunity to get involved in our Society!
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Become a member
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Join the Pipe Band
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Sign the kids up for Highland Dance
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Join Ancient Athletics
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Vote in the 2026 Board of Directors
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Participate in event planning, outreach, and more!
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Learn more about your culture

RSVP here: https://www.jotform.com/form/253088936263062

Address

Springfield, IL

Website

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