Dunedin Celtic Festival

Yesterday, my husband and I were treated to VIP tickets for the Dunedin Celtic Music Festival.
This event happens every year for the last 16 years and this is the first time I’ve attended. I did attend the Dunedin Highland Games in March and had a grand time with the games and herding dogs and the Clan booths all set up and entertainment.
This event is different in that it is based around the craft beers and music.
For $ 10 parking right up at the Festival entrance, was worth it. Because of the weather, I think a lot of people decided not to attend — more parking for me! But it had stopped raining by the time we showed up (around 5 pm).
My immediate reaction once getting into the VIP area was that it was not really located in the right spot. Zero view of the stage. Right adjacent to the main stage. Which, for listening purposes, was alright I guess with the bass pounding in your chest, however, for viewing purposes was not possible.
Thank goodness the rain did stop, we ate under the VIP tents which had an array of ok food; salad, fruit, chicken, some unidentifiable salty meat, veggies and a couple of empty tins… There was a table set up just past the «hot food» table with beer — Gingerbreadhead and something Pumpkin on tap as well as Pirate Pils, Sunfish, Tangerine Wheat, Bud Light and couple of other beers I do not recall, as well as wine. After the bar area there was a table full of treats from cookies to candies to chips to biscotti’s for the coffee on the far end of the VIP area all the way in the back. But no Bailey’s Irish Cream. That would have been fabulous. So I didn’t have coffee.
Most of the food was gone by late afternoon. We had just gotten there.
The folks running the VIP tent had no idea what they were serving. They were all very nice and we gave a nice tip/​donation up front that goes to the foundation, but they didn’t know what they had, what they didn’t have and what anything really was.
The VIP area/​ground was topped with tarp, wet, full of puddles.
Then, someone not paying attention opened a cooler sitting on the ground and dropped the top of it on my toe, which hurt like a b****, I barely got an «I’m sorry!» :(
Worst of all, the entire viewing area for VIP and non-​VIP folks was just wrong. There were 2 or 3 sets of bleachers, one of which was directly blocking a permanent standing pavilion with picnic tables underneath.
There are plenty of other ways to set up this event where the VIP tents, bleachers, sound booth and other non-​VIP or permanent structures could all be in good view of the main stage without obstructing one another.
Had it been raining, there would be no fun standing out in the rain watching the bands, I probably would have left.
Once we ate, we took a quick stroll around the grounds and vendors between bands to see what they all had to sell. There was a good variety of things for sale from shirts to kilts to jewelry to hats to more jewelry, to other apparel and gifts and things.
The main reason why we were there and the biggest reason why this is a 4 star, and not a 2 for VIP or 3 for non-​VIP, was for the music… and the music was fantastic!
We enjoyed that part so much it took away the rest of the (lack of) VIP experience. The open seats in front of the stage were soaked, but I wiped them down with napkins and placed my thin plastic poncho over it to sit, that worked out perfectly and my view was unobstructed there. But the VIP seating section was about empty. I think they would have a lot more VIP spenders with just a bit better planning.
The Fighting Jamesons and Red Hot Chilli Pipers were my favorites, but all the bands and entertainment were fantastic! I would go again, however more than likely I would not pay the hefty VIP price — except that it included all your drinks, as you can sit with your own lawn chairs most anywhere else and get a good view of the band up on stage. I’m pretty sure you can even bring your own pop up tent as long as it is set up outside of normal standing/​sitting areas.
Overall fun event! VIP needs some work.

We had a great time at the 17^th annual Celtic Music and Craft Beer Festival held outside of the Dunedin Community Center. As instructed, we parked at the Dunedin High School for $ 5 and took a bus to the Dunedin Community Center. It was nice that they had 2 busses bussing people and we didn’t have to wait more than 2 minutes for a bus. In VIP we enjoyed grilled salmon filet, Firehouse turkey subs, Celtic chicken, salad, cheese squares, twizzlers, cinnamon buns, and rice crispy treats. For non-​VIP guests there were plenty of restaurant vendors serving Irish food, seafood, Italian food, and American food. In VIP, there was a nice selection of craft brews including Southern Tier Oak Aged Pumpking, Shipyard Gingerbreadhead, Pirata Pils by Darwin Brewing, Tangerine Wheat by Darwin Brewing, Sunfish by Sea Dog Brewery, and Killer Whale Cream Ale by Bold City Brewery. For non-​VIP guests, there was a surprisingly large selection of craft brews by Coppertail, Goose Island 312, Reef Donkey, Big Storm, Sweetwater 420, Florida Wheat, and 3 Daughters Brewery. Our bartender in VIP was very nice and quick to serve us as there was seldom a line for drinks. There weren’t long lines for drinks outside of VIP either. There was plenty of chairs for sitting in VIP with a nice view of the stage.
Live Music: The Celtic Music & Craft Beer Festival featured live music all day Saturday from 12PM-​930PM by the Red Hot Chilli Pipers (coming all the way from Scotland), Off Kilter, Cleghorn, The Fighting Jamesons, Whiskey of the Damned, Mighty Fine Peppers, the Bawdy Boys, and the local City of Dunedin Pipe Band! The Fighting Jameson’s and the Red Hot Chili Pipers were my favorite bands of the evening. The City of Dunedin Pipers had some impressive and talented female riverdance style dancers.
Pricing: VIP Tickets for $ 75 included access to the VIP Tent, Food, and unlimited beer and wine. General Admission Tickets were $ 20 and the Scotch Tasting Tickets for 2PM or 4PM were $ 43 but later increased to $ 53 the day of the festival. The Scotch tasting included 4 different single barrel aged scotches and a take home souvenir glass branded with the festival logo. The Craft Brews and wines were $ 5 each which was pretty reasonable for quality brews.
Cons: Luckily it stopped raining by the time we got to the festival at 430PM, but if it had kept raining, there would have not been enough covered areas for visitors to enjoy the concert from due to the sheer number of people at the event. For next year, if its going to rain, I’d encourage management to provide more tents.
Otherwise, everything was great! I look forward to attending next year as well!