ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. \u2014 Changes and cuts to the state-funded cultural grants and longer wait times for processing work visas contributed to the decision to end the St. Augustine Celtic Music & Heritage Festival, according to an event organizer. <\/p>\n
Albert Syeles has been one of the organizers with the St. Augustine Celtic Music & Heritage Festival since the beginning.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last two years, 2025 and 2026, we were named one of the top 10 cultural festivals in the United Sates,\u201d said Syeles.<\/p>\n
But this week it was announced the sound of the bagpipes will be silenced and the festival\u2019s 15-year run is over.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people are disappointed. I\u2019m disappointed, but I\u2019m old and it\u2019s just gotten too hard,\u201d said Syeles.<\/p>\n
Syeles explained money – or the lack thereof – played a big factor.<\/p>\n
The first strike was COVID, which cost the festival gravely in 2020, but those loses were compounded by the Governor\u2019s veto of $32 million for all state cultural grant funding in 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Even after grant funding was restored the following year, Syeles said changes to the scoring system for awarding grants prevented the festival from qualifying for state money ever since.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we were to get, say, $40,000 a year for the last four years, we\u2019d have $160,000 more, which is enough to put on the festival one more year,\u201d said Syeles.<\/p>\n And he argued the Celtic Festival is no outlier.<\/p>\n Syeles estimated since changes to the cultural grant scoring system were made, about 80 percent of applications are now being denied.<\/p>\n Action News Jax reached out to the Florida Department of State for the total number of award by year since 2023 and is waiting for a response.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not the only event in Florida that\u2019s canceling. And that is going to continue to happen,\u201d said Syeles.<\/p>\n [DOWNLOAD: <\/b>Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/b><\/a>]<\/b><\/p>\n Adding to the money woes, Syeles noted international bands from Canada, Ireland and Scotland have also faced issues getting work authorization from the federal government over the past two years.<\/p>\n He said bands typically apply for those work authorization papers nine months in advance and get approval within a few months, but in recent years approval either didn\u2019t come until a few weeks before the festival, or in one case last year, one band was flat out denied at the last minute.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t know until the last minute. So, that\u2019s a challenge and at the same time it gets at your stomach to worry about this stuff,\u201d said Syeles.<\/p>\n [SIGN UP: <\/b>Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter<\/b><\/a>] <\/b><\/p>\n He said he hopes going forward there\u2019s a change in philosophy when it comes to state grant funding to keep other events like the Celtic Festival alive and well for years to come.<\/p>\n \u201cThe administration changes every once in a while. And whoever comes in will be different from the one that was there before. I don\u2019t know what that means and I don\u2019t know how it\u2019s going to effect things. We\u2019ll keep our eye on it and hope for the best,\u201d said Syeles.<\/p>\n Click here<\/b><\/a> to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, <\/b>click here<\/b><\/a> to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and <\/b>click here<\/b><\/a> to stream Action News Jax live.<\/b><\/p>\n Action News Jax Top Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. 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