7-14-2013 8:30pm

Scenes from Saturday at the Celtic Festival

The 18th Annual Saline Celtic Festival drew thousands of people to Mill Pond Park Saturday.

(To start the gallery, click any picture below. Click here for Friday's gallery.)

The annual summer party, born out of Saline's international friendship with its sister city, Brecon, Wales, was blessed with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-80s. Saline Mayor Brian Marl referenced the relationship with Brecon during the opening ceremony Saturday morning.

"This event celebrates and honors a very special sister city relationship we have with Brecon, Wales. It's a relationship that is important to us and to Brecon Wales," Marl said. "This festival is just of the many reasons why Saline is such a special place."

The opening ceremony was attended by many local government leaders. including Mayor Marl, Saline City Council members David Rhoads, Dean Girbach, Linda TerHaar, Jim Peters and Jim Roth, State Rep. Gretchen Driskell, and County Commissioner Alicia Ping.

"I live just up the street and it's really great to see this park being used the way it is," said Rep. Driskell, who was one of the festival's biggest proponents when she was Saline's Mayor. "This event is a great example of what makes Saline special and Michigan special. Everybody comes out to play together and work together."

Councilor Jim Peters, who also serves on the Celtic Festival's executive committee, noted that the Celtic Festival was listed prominently in the Bloomberg-Businessweek article that named Saline as Michigan's best place to raise kids. Peters also thanked the city's Department of Public Works employees for helping hundreds of volunteers prepare the park for all of the guests.

Workers at the front gate Saturday said nobody was keeping official count, but they said it appeared attendance was greater than 2011. The beer tent and main stage were very busy Friday night and remained busy Saturday.

Bands like the Tartan Terrors, Brother and hometown favorites Fiddlers ReStrung drew big crowds. The traditional dance competitions also brought many to the festival.

Nick and Amy Wallen, owners of Benito's Pizza, sold pizza at the festival for the third straight year. Saturday afternoon, Wallen said he estimated business was up 50 percent.

"I haven't even been able to lift my head up and see what's going on at the festival. It's been so busy," Wallen said. "We've been making as many pizzas as we can back at the restaurant and we're barely keeping up."

Throughout the day, crowds were a little thicker than they've been in years past. Some cited the focus on Michigan craft beers as a reason for greater attendance. Others said the festival's focus on family-friendly events is paying off. New events, like the Mastodon Mayhem Challenge, also drew more people to the park.