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Celebrate your inner Celt

Knot Fibb’n keeps the St. Paddy’s Day parties alive at the 2nd annual Celtic Arts Festival

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By Eric Robinette, Staff Writer Updated 11:37 AM Friday, March 19, 2010

FAIRFIELD — Just because an event takes place on March 20 doesn’t mean it’s too late to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day — at least not at the Fairfield Community Arts Center.

Saturday is the second annual Celtic Arts Festival, followed by a concert from the Columbus-based band Knot Fibb’n.

“Our style is contemporary/traditional Irish band. It’s pretty high energy but it’s not rock ’n’ roll. It’s in between,” said R. Beth Hicks, the group’s flute and woodwinds player.

Knot Fibb’n also includes Renilda Marshall on accordion, Tim O’Neill on percussion and guitarist Karl Wohlwend.

“Karl is very accomplished and is a chordal genius. That allows us to play with different harmonies sometimes,” Hicks said.

Heidi Schiller, FCAC manager, saw Knot Fibb’n perform at a conference.

“I was really thrilled with their energy and their onstage presence. They were a really perfect fit for this year,” Schiller said.

What makes the band distinctive is its knack for unusual arrangements, Hicks said.

Knot Fibb’n may take an established tune like Pink Floyd’s “On the Turning Away” and put its unique spin on it, she explained. Almost any kind of tune can get the Celtic treatment because “a good song is a good song,” Hicks said.

“We’ll change the color of it by changing the rhythms and just kind of bending the notes.”

Schiller said the Celtic Arts Festival will sport a different headliner each year. The debut event in 2009, which featured Irish singer Tommy Sands, attracted about 350 people.

The festival begins at noon with a number of free activities including crafts; face painting; performances by Harper’s Robin, a harp-playing group; the Highland Pipe and Drum of Miami University; the Cincinnati Highland Dancers; and the Riley School of Music, which teaches children how to play Celtic instruments, said Schiller. Concessions will be available for purchase.

“When we created the One Stage series, one of the ideas was to focus on a particular culture,” said Schiller. “There seemed to be a need, so we said, ‘Let’s see if this can be our niche.’ ”

The festival is free. The Knot Fibb’n concert, starting at 8 p.m., costs $15 for adults and $12 for seniors and students. Call (513) 867-5348 or visit www.fairfield-city.org/cac.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2836 or erobinette@coxohio.com.