Collar City Kilt Fest a family friendly affair
TROY, N.Y.>> Collar City Kilt Fest will fill the streets of downtown Troy this weekend for the third year in a row.
The event will take place all day on Saturday, March 18, just one day after St. Patrick’s Day, throughout Troy’s downtown district.
This year, organizers put special effort into making the festival a fun experience for the whole family.
“This year we’re trying to make it more all-inclusive,” said Val Balga, owner of Go To Guide, which puts on Collar City Kilt Fest. “We wanted to make it a more family-friendly event.
The day starts out with a lot of family-friendly activities that we have planned, and then we’ll move into more adult-based activities.”
From the 5K race to Irish dancing to magic performances to the popular costume contest, Collar City Kilt Fest has plenty to offer attendees of all ages.
Bagpipers and the Trojan High Steppers will also provide entertainment throughout the day.
Collar City Kilt Fest was designed as an opportunity for people to break out of the winter blues with a fun 5K and festival celebrating community and Celtic heritage. A new tradition this year are commemorative Collar City Kilt Fest 2017 medals, which will be given to all participants.
For Saturday’s event, runners and all event-goers are encouraged to wear their favorite St. Patrick’s Day outfit or costume, for a contest at noon.
At 1 p.m., after the traditional Irish prayer, the unique Collar City Kilt Fest 5K race will begin, taking runners through a scenic route of downtown and South Troy, with bagpipers and leprechauns teasing and taunting racers along the way.
Participants can also scavenge along the race route for treasure, special gold beads that can be turned in for prizes postrace. Runners with the most gold beads, and the first 10 to cross the finish line at Monument Square will have access to premier prizes.
All runners can check in at the Arts Center of the Capital Region, a new indoor location, to pick up their race day goodie bag. There will also be vendors and live entertainment at this site, including youth dancers from Boland School of Irish Dance in Green Island.
In addition to these family-friendly activities, Troy eateries will be serving up seasonal food and drinks for the festival, too. All are invited to visit downtown cafes and restaurants for breakfast or lunch, and wander through the local shops before the race begins.
“We just want people to kind of go throughout the district, have breakfast in the morning, brunch and hang out,” said Katie Hammon, executive director of the Downtown Troy Business Improvement District.
After the race, from 2 to 5 p.m. those with a Collar City Kilt Fest City Pass can visit all of the 50 participating local businesses and organizations as part of the City Crawl, many of which are offering treats and giveaways for passholders.
City Passes are sold out, but event-goers can still ride the Kilt Crawl shuttle around the district for $1.00 per ride
Last year, the second annual Collar City Kilt Fest attracted 1,500 attendees, and organizers expect to have an even bigger turnout for 2017.
For more information and updates follow the Collar City Kilt Facebook page or visit collarcitykiltfest.com for a full schedule of events and programs.