Everyone is welcome to the 19th Malad Valley Welsh Festival –whether or not you are Welsh!  Celebrate the history of Malad Valley and learn about the pioneers who settled this area in the 1860s.  The Festival is scheduled for Friday, June 27, and Saturday, June 28, with an evening devotional on Sunday, June 29. Most of the Festival events are scheduled for Malad City Park and the adjacent 2nd Ward Church.

Presentations

Each day of the Festival will begin with an Opening Ceremony, presided over by Candace Lemmon, the 2024 Bard of the Festival.  The Knight of the Festival will lead past Bards into the Festival, somewhat reminiscent of the pageantry at the eisteddfod held annually in Wales. Besides Candace, the past Bards of the Welsh Festival are Jan Crowther Myers, Dotty Thorpe Evanson, Cory Webster, Monte John, and Blaine Scott.

Two presentations each day will feature well-known speakers. Ron Dennis, the foremost authority on the emigration of the Welsh to the American West, will speak about Dan Jones, the missionary who encouraged the Welsh to leave the poverty and religious persecution of Wales and go to America.

Lucie Thomas Washburn, who grew up in Malad, will talk about the history of Welsh castles as Wales is known for its Ring of Iron (ten castles built in northern Wales by Edward I to control the native Welsh population in the 1200s) as well as Cardiff, Carmarthen, and Swansea Castles.

Sunday Fireside

The featured speaker at the Sunday evening program will be Dr. Gordon Simpson, who grew up in Malad when his father was the School District Superintendent and his mother taught 4th grade.  Gordon spoke about growing up in Malad in the 1940s and 50s at a meeting of the Sons of Utah Pioneers, and some of those who heard the talk thought it would be a great addition to the Welsh Festival.

Welsh Language Class

Welsh language classes will be offered again at the Festival to introduce this difficult language to interested persons.  John Shaw will have a class area set up in the church cultural hall so that people can just drop by to learn a few words of Welsh in the afternoons on both days of the Festival.

Music, Poetry, Art

Music, poetry, literature and art have to be part of any Welsh Festival. Celtic musicians will perform on the outdoor amphitheater at Malad City Park. Regional choral groups will perform on Friday evening. A youth concert and a piano ensemble concert will also be held. The Malad Valley Welsh Men’s Chorus will perform several times during the Festival.

Youth poets will recite their poems at the reading on Friday with winners being crowned at the conclusion of the program. The fiction winner will be named at the Festival’s final program. Adult poets will recite their poems at the Finale of the Festival with one winner being chaired as the Festival Bard and one winner receiving the Patsy Price Scott Poetry Prize. Past Bards will present poems in their Bard’s Circle at the Finale.

Works of art by the winners of the Youth Art Competition will be displayed in the Relief Society Room of the church. 

Other Activities

Whether or not you have ever been to Wales, you will want to take a “Walk through Wales” in the display area of the Church, where enlarged photographs will bring Wales to Malad. Family histories of many of Malad Valley’s first pioneer families will be on display so that attendees can determine how many cousins they have with Malad Valley roots.

The Oneida Quilters will host their annual quilt show and bake sale at the Co-op building during the Festival. Kids’ activities sponsored by the Malad After-School Program will be on Friday, and pioneer games sponsored by the Malad Middle School Math Counts Team will be on Saturday.  Guided wagon tours along historic routes in Malad are always popular and allow visitors the opportunity to stop in downtown Malad at the Quilt Show, the Oneida Pioneer Museum, and the 143-year-old Malad Presbyterian Church. The cabins at the Heritage Square in Samaria will be open for tours. The Oneida County Library’s Friends of the Library will sponsor a book sale during the Festival. The MHS Cross Country Team will again sponsor their Dragon Half and Quarter Marathon on Saturday.

Lots of food booths be available, selling everything from corn dogs to Swaffles to ice cream. Authentic Welsh food will be sold at the “Taste of Wales” booth sponsored by the Malad High School FCCLA and Samaria’s Malad Valley Heritage Square. Craft booths will sell practical and whimsical items throughout the Festival. The Welsh Country Store will sell souvenirs of Wales and the Welsh Festival. 

Attendees will have the opportunity to have their pictures taken with the Knight of the Festival.

The Malad Valley Welsh Festival is partially funded by grants from the Idaho Humanities Council and the Bistline Foundation through the Idaho Community Foundation and generous donations from local businesses and organizations. Admission to the Festival is free although some individual events will charge participation fees. Donations are very welcome.

For the complete schedule and additional information, please see www.welshfestival.com or call Malad City Hall at 208-766-4160.