After nearly four decades, the Celtic Cultural Alliance has announced that it will conclude operations following this year’s 39th annual Celtic Classic Highland Games and Festival. It marks the end of a tradition that has brought hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Lehigh Valley each year.
The nonprofit says years of financial challenges made continuing operations unsustainable. While festival attendance remained strong, the CCA points to changing spending habits, weather-related disruptions, the lasting financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and rising operating costs as contributing factors for their decision.
In a letter to sponsors, Board President Lane Rundle and Executive Director Jayne Ann Recker called the decision heartbreaking, but said the board was left with no other choice. They say the support of their sponsors through this year’s event helped keep the organization alive up to this point.
Founded in 1988, the Celtic Cultural Alliance grew the Celtic Classic into one of the largest free Celtic festivals in North America. Its programming also included the Parade of Shamrocks, concerts, cultural classes, educational outreach, and scholarships for students pursuing Celtic arts.
The organization praised Recker’s 18 years of leadership and thanked the volunteers, performers, sponsors, and attendees who helped sustain its mission.
The CCA office will remain open through December 31 to wrap up outstanding business.
While the organization is closing, its leaders say the friendships, traditions, and memories created over 39 years will remain part of Bethlehem’s cultural legacy.
