Celtic Music And Culture, The future of the Celts.

[CelticRadio]

From the Irish, to the Scottish, to the Welsh and more. Is Celtic Music and Culture on the rise in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the remaining U.K. including Scotland?

Let's hear from around the Globe if the culture of our ancestors is alive and well; or is it headed towards extinction.

[lgreaseman]

From here in the states...south of you in Philadelphia....the Irish culture is doing pretty well. While there are many struggles still (such as the pre-conceived notion that all Irish parties are drunken melees)...they are not only the wakes are! I have seen more Irish festivals and heritage events happening in the area. Plus the local AOH have worked hard to try and improve the overall Irish image, plus educate more about the culture and history of our people. I was also surprised to see an increase in the availability of Gaelic as a language choice in many local high schools and colleges. So I would have to say....yes we are on the rise!!!!

[haynes9]

Based on the material I read and the places I have the privilege of going, I think it is alive and well and, in some places, on the rise.

The number of new groups coming out these days in the Trad genre is amazing to me. There certainly seems to be an interest or folks would not be investing so much into the music.

There seems to be a rise in interest in all things "Celtic" also. I realize that the scope of the word "Celtic" can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. But at least there is discussion and interest.

I trust that our little community here can continue to be a part of that rising interest!

Have a great day!!

[TetonAndDistrictPerformingArts]

To me, this is a difficult question.

I have been going to Highland Games for 36 years, all across the Country. The one thing that is most evident is... whenever there is a major Scottish movie ( braveheart, etc.) games attendance is, always, way up. Between the creation of these block-busters, the numbers start to dwindle.

Next, I find that the younger people are not as involved as they were when I was in my teens. Yes, the dancers are all young, but, everybody else is getting older. But, I see that as a sign of the times.

Actual social interaction is becoming a thing of the past. Kids sit in groups and text each other; how weird is that? Fraternal organizations are almost extinct. Social clubs of any description are becoming a thing of the past.

We home school. My kids are VERY social. But, what I see is this. The older generation really likes my kids, as opposed to most the other neighbor kids, or even their own grand-kids. My kids state, repeatedly, that they have a hard time relating to people their own age ( just FYI, my kids are 7, 10, 15, and 18).

Where am I going with this???

I see this as a symptom of modern times. The less we feel inclined to, actually, socialize, the less we will. The less we socialize, the less we learn how too ( texting is not socializing!). Then, the less we will need social groups / societies / clubs. Hence, the demise of Scottish groups ( Caledonian Societies, St. Andrew's Societies, etc). Then all that is left is the neo-celtic individuals; some of which are just fine. Others... just fruitcakes.

I try like hell to recruit for our performing arts group. If I got one person for every 50 business cards that I handed out, we would huge! I have people come up to me and tell me how much they want to learn X Y Z, but never show-up to practice. They take my card, shake my hand, and never see them again.

I expect that one day, people will read about the gatherings in history books, as some strange social thing of the twentieth-century.