Culture
The Sherman Celtic Festival is always filled with numerous and unique cultural exhibitions, demonstrations, educational and immersive opportunities. If you have ever wanted to know more about your Celtic roots, the Celtic Village and Cultural Area of our festival is a can't miss visit for you. We have 40+ Scottish clans in attendance this year with a number of Irish representatives as well as the Choctaw Nation.
Marsha Singer Memorial Tent
Marsha Singer was the Executive Director of the North Texas Irish Festival (NTIF) for 21 years. On Thursday, March 2, 2023, just one day before the opening of the 2023 North Texas Irish Festival, Marsha suddenly passed from this life to the next. Marsha's beloved group of volunteers and staff carried on and pulled off another amazing event in her honor.​
Marsha was a great supporter of the Sherman Celtic Festival and fostered a cooperative relationship between the Southwest Celtic Music Association (SCMA) and the Texoma Society of CELTS. Marsha will be greatly missed.​This year, to honor Marsha's memory and her support of the Sherman Celtic Festival, we have introduced the Marsha Singer Memorial tent in which will be held numerous cultural presentations and workshops throughout our event.
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The tent will seat plenty of people so there is plenty of room for you to join in on many of the great presentations.
Innovators Who Changed the World
Dr. Jim Webb
Saturday 2 PM Celtic and Cultural Tent
Dr. Jim Webb attended West Point, graduated at the top of his Ranger School class, and earned the
coveted Green Beret. His diverse post-military career includes roles as a research engineer, chief
strategist of two global corporations, strategy consultant to numerous large corporations and several
foreign governments and running a $6 billion pension fund. He is an internationally well-known scholar
of Sherlock Holmes. The former national judo champion is a director on the US Olympic Committee’s
National Governing Body. He is currently a professor at Southern Methodist University. His most recent
book is Innovators Who Changed the World: Timeless Leadership Lessons from West Point, Green
Berets, Sherlock Holmes, and Wall Street.
Genealogy 101
How To Get Started
John McClellan
Saturday 1 PM Celtic and Cultural Tent D3
Sunday 11 AM Celtic and Cultural Tent D3
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John McClellan has a BS in Biology from Lubbock Christian University, a MS in
Biochemistry from Texas Tech University School of Medical and an MBA from Texas
A&M University. Professionally he worked in the healthcare arena, with most of his
career with healthcare manufacturing companies.
But in the world of real life, his driving interest has been his family, including a passion
to understand his heritage and expand his family’s history and genealogy.
He is National Treasurer for Clan MacLellan and been an active member of the
organization since 2015, with a focus on promoting Scottish heritage.
His efforts include travel in the US and internationally to expand and document his
family’s roots. In this time, he has not only learned more about his ancestors but has
met several lost cousins who are now dear friends.
To enhance his genealogy network and skills he has attended RootsTech (world’s largest
family history conference) several times over the last few years, most recently RootsTech
2023, earlier this month.
David Gressett
Gaelic Language Workshop
Saturday 11 AM Saturday Marsha Singer Memorial Tent
Sunday 12 Noon Sunday Marsha Singer Memorial Tent
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The Real Stories of Fairy Tales. (Not for children)
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Saturday 4 PM Marsha Singer Memorial Tent
Sunday 3 PM Marsha Singer Memorial Tent
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David Gressett is a native Texan from Odessa. He has an education in mathematics and physics, with a
BS in physics from Angelo State University as well as MS and PhD degrees in atomic physics from the
University of North Texas in Denton. David has always held an interest in languages. During his formal
education he took courses in Spanish, French, and German, and has also studied Latin,
Italian, and Greek. Another interest, family history, brought him to Celtic languages. His research
connected his ancestry to the first kings of Scotland, and he started learning their language (Scottish
Gaelic) in 1999.
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Andrew Lyon and Sara Keyes-Lyon
Historical Kilting and demonstration
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10 AM Saturday Marsha Singer Memorial Tent
1 PM Sunday Marsha Singer Memorial Tent
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Bagpipe Culture and demonstration
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Saturday 3 PM Marsha Singer Memorial Tent
Sunday 2 PM Marsha Singer Memorial Tent
Andrew and Sara are a delightful couple who know their history. There will be demonstrations with the
Historical Kilting and Bagpipe Culture seminars.
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Border Collies
Diane Murray
Saturday 1030 AM Marsha Singer Memorial Tent
Sunday 130 PM Marsha Singer Memorial Tent
Diane is a retired Information Technology Software Instructor. Diane still has and shows horses. It
seems many “horse people” eventually end up in the Dog Agility world and, having Border Collies, it was
a logical step. Jamie is Diane’s fourth Border Collie and was rescued from the streets of San Antonio at
about 2 years old. He is now 7 years old and is a delight to work with even with being the quintessential
ADHD Border Collie. Agility has something for all types of dogs and people and Jamie is a great
ambassador for the sport as well as having quite a following on Facebook as Part-Time Jamie.
Scottish American Military Society
Several speakers of military history all weekend Tents A9-A12.
The Scottish American Military Society is a veteran’s organization and is NOT A MILITIA.
The Society was founded in North Carolina, April 12, 1981, as a non-profit organization with the
following purposes:
"To preserve and promote Scottish and American Armed Forces customs, traditions, and heritage, by:
-Providing a forum for exchange of military history and genealogical information.
-Conducting public education programs.
-Preserving military student honor awards.
-Supporting Scottish activities at Highland Games.
-Making contributions to qualified scholarship funds or institutions.
-Making contributions to appropriate charities.
-Providing a fraternal atmosphere for members."
Come to our tents for more information, get your questions answered, find out what the qualifications
are, and get an application. If you've never been in the military and are interested, come by anyway.
There are several ways to become a member.
National website: www.S-A-M-S.org
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Scottish Weapons
Scott Davis
Saturday 11 AM AND 1 PM, Clan Murray Tent D1-D2
Sunday 1230 AND 230 PM, Clan Murray Tent D1-D2
Scott is retired Air Force, retired Social Worker rescuing suicidal people, and a big history buff. After
discovering his Scottish roots in 2005 and joining Clan Murray, he has also discovered that he is a
descendant of Duncan I and Malcolm III of Scotland, and distant cousin of Robert the Bruce. He loves
talking about the weapons the Scots carried and sharing that information with others.
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Honey Bee Facts
Saturday 2 PM - Clan Gunn Tents B5-B6
Highland Cattle Facts
Sunday 11:30 AM - Clan Gunn Tents B5-B6
Mike Pearson
Mike Pearson is a professional beekeeper. Honey bees and Highland Cattle are iconic creatures. We
often see them as mascots, cute stuffed toys, photos, and in the media; but what are the facts about
them? Come by the Clan Gunn Tents B5-B6 to learn more!
Poetry
Anna Molly
Saturday 3:30 PM Marsha Singer Memorial Tent
Sunday 2:30 PM Marsha Singer Memorial Tent
Anna has been writing poetry since she was five (she’s much improved over the years!) and has been teaching people to write poetry for 17 years. She enjoys sharing her love of poetry with others and helping them find their own voices as poets. She currently resides with her beloved husband and dog, and two cats who seem to tolerate her (most of the time).