Cheyenne Celtic Fest to feature bizarre feats of strength -- and more

May 29—Go try and lift a refrigerator.

Now picture picking up two at once.

That's approximately the average weight that athletes will lift at the Celtic Bison Strongman competition on June 10.

It's just one event to be held during the 17th annual Cheyenne Celtic Festival and Highland Games, which gives residents and visitors the opportunity to see more than a handful of activities they probably thought they'd never lay eyes on in Cheyenne.

Better yet, the event has only gotten bigger with every installment.

"We've really had a focus over the past couple of years in improving, trying to make sure that our entertainment is at a high level," said Ryan Seckman, organizer of the Celtic Festival.

Among the many features of the festival — from vendors, live music and a presentation of the traditional Scottish clans — the most thrilling has to be the two athletic events to be held from June 10-12.

Stop by the Cheyenne Depot Plaza that Friday and witness big people lift even bigger objects at the Celtic Bison Strongman Competition. This will be the first year that the event will be officially sanctioned as a qualifier for national strength competitions.

That means that the numbers posted during this event count.

The Dinnie Stone Walk, Max Tire Deadlift, H2H Viking Press, Keg/Keg/Barrel Load Medley and Yoke Ladder for Max Distance will all be on display for the audience's viewing pleasure. Right now, there are about 60 athletes signed up to compete, though the cap is 75.

Event organizer

David Keetley, who helps organize the Celtic Bison Competition, has been competing in strongman events since 2017. He used to compete in Celtic Bison.

This is not is no longer permitted, since he is now helping to organize the event.

"They're pretty intense," Keetley said. "It's lots of strong people doing crazy, crazy stuff, but the thing I really like about it is the support. Everybody's always yelling for everybody, supporting even if it's the people they're competing against.

"They tend to be pretty loud, but it's very positive environment. Everybody wants everybody to succeed and do their best."

When Keetley came onboard, the quality of the events began to improve. When he was competing, some of the judging was inconsistent, and even more odd, the organizers wouldn't inform athletes of the schedule of events until the day of the competition.

At the time, Celtic Bison came off as amateurish.

Turnaround

Now, Keetley and the rest of the team have made it a point to treat athletes with respect by giving them time to prepare and conducting the competition in a more professional manner. Of course, it doesn't hurt that now, in the case of the deadlift, the numbers resonate on a national scale.

It's not uncommon to see athletes a little over 200 pounds lifting four times their body weight.

"The cool thing about strongman is it's honestly fairly open to anybody, because you have to be strong, but you also have to be fast on your feet," Keetley said. "You have to be able to do things for reps. You have to do things for max reps in a minute, so it takes a pretty broad variety of training."

Organizers are accepting athletes until the day of, pending spot availability. There are 14 different weight classes and qualifications. People can sign up online at ironpodium.com/browse/event/celtic-bison-strongman-2022.

Celtic Bison runs from 10 a.m.-7 p.m., with the finals tactfully beginning just after work lets out — about 4:45 p.m. After a winner is announced, the party will continue with Fridays on the Plaza. There, Flatfoot 56 and The Byrne Brothers, a traditional bluegrass band, will perform.

Along with performances of traditional Celtic music, the latter will stick around the following day at Lions Park, where festivities will continue.

In addition to good-natured time-wasting activities, there will be another athletic event that both Seckman and Keetley will take part in from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. It takes just as much strength as Celtic Bison, but might put on even more of a show.

The Highland Games, according to Seckman, were the original inspiration for the Greeks to create the Olympics. Athletes will gather at Lions Park to participate in a bizarre collection of throwing events.

Plus, all athletes are required to wear kilts.

Games

Some games are reminiscent of modern-day field events, like the hammer throw. There are some small variations, including the heavy hammer, which requires an athlete to launch a 52-pound ball as far as they can.

Then there's the caber toss, which is much easier to understand when witnessed. It requires an athlete to throw a full-sized log end-over-end to land at as close to the "12 o'clock" position as possible.

"It's pretty fun to watch, and a lot of people don't realize that event is actually an accuracy event, not a distance event," Keetley said. "If you land on 'one o'clock,' you actually lose points. You have to get it to turn, but the accuracy is actually how you're scored, which is interesting."

It wouldn't be a Celtic celebration without drink, so the festival will end in a pub crawl that begins at 5:30 p.m. on June 11. Participating bars will present beer specials for the festival.

The weekend should be a sight to see, as the organizers are expecting at least 3,000 attendees. That number might decline slightly for the events being held at Lions Park.

As for younger attendees, the organizers have made a push to incorporate more kid-friendly events and activities into the festival. They'll be handing out passports where kids can hop between Scottish clans to earn a stamp and learn about each family history.

"They can get stamps from the different clans. They can go to the athletics and ask them a question about athletics and have something to take back home with them to kind of remember and learn a little more," Seckman said. "That's kind of been our big focus, the educational aspect and athletic aspect, and then continuing to improve our entertainment."

Will Carpenter is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's Arts and Entertainment/Features Reporter. He can be reached by email at wcarpenter@wyomingnews.com or by phone at 307-633-3135. Follow him on Twitter @will_carp_.