BYU's Irish Dance Club may bring Celtic traditions to the Provo campus, but the Utah Scottish Association takes it a step further by keeping Celtic culture alive throughout the state and on the Utah State Fairpark.

A summer day in Utah is a far cry from the cold, gray skies of Scotland. But the Celtic community is clad in plaid on a 90 degree day in Salt Lake City for the Utah Scottish Festival and Highland Games.

Utahns gathered in Salt Lake City for the games, celebrating their tartan stamped genealogy.

"There's quite a lot of Scottish ancestry of people who moved here to Utah because of some of the similarities in the mountainous regions. I honestly think that's part of the reason the organization was even founded is because of the strong family history ties here," Alisa Scott, Utah Scottish Association secretary, said.

2026 marks the Utah Scottish Association's fiftieth year and the state has become a hub for athletic, dance and music championships.

"My great grandmother was born in Scotland and she came here. She used to teach Highland dance," Jared Hunt, festival director, said.

When attendees aren't competing, they are usually investigating their family history and culture.

"I just recently started studying my heritage and I've always had that question of why, when I hear bagpipes, I feel alive," Logan Bruek, Utah Scottish Association board member, said.

"My twenty-two years in the military, I didn't care about anything but being a soldier. But my sisters did my genealogy stuff and I just got into it more than they did," Daniel Lamont, North American Clan Lamont Society, Far West Director, said.

The festival included a parade of tents representing Scottish clans that date back to Medieval eras.

"We have a book right here, I can look in that book and say, 'Oh yeah, these are Gaelic names,'" Lamont said.

But the games aren't only for Celtic descendants, because the clans keep up a tradition of cultural integration for those who love this community.

"You can be adopted and the spirit begins to adopt you as soon as you hear the pipes," Bill Lawrence, Honorary Festival Chieftain, said.

Other Scottish festivals and celebrations in Utah include the Payson Scottish Festival, the Utah Pipe Band's "Scottish Pioneer Celebration," and Scots on the Rocks in Moab. To learn more about the state's Scottish community, visit utahscotts.org.

Many associate Brigham Young University with its business school, law school and athletic teams; however, there is a group of students mastering something that started across the Atlantic Ocean: Irish dance.

This Celtic tradition starts at a young age for some, while others learn it for the first time on campus.

Cassea Day, a member of the BYU Irish Dance Club, grew up Irish dancing.

"We had a family friend who taught it," Day said.

Day continued Irish dancing into high school until she sprained her ankle and got back into it in college.

Cami Weight, on the other hand, had never danced before college. She went to the club fair at the beginning of her freshman year and came across the Irish Dance Club. Despite her lack of dance experience, she decided she would give it a try.

"Walking in and meeting everybody, and then right away it was a welcoming environment," Weight said, of her first day with the club.

She remembers perfectly that despite having no dance experience, they took the time to teach her the skills that have gotten her to the level she is now, capable of performing.

The BYU Irish Dance Club is one of many dance clubs on campus, but several aspects make it unique.

For starters, their shoes. "We have two different shoes. Theres a soft shoe, the one that doesnt make a sound, used for a lot more leaping and jumping," Day said. "Then theres the hard shoe. Thats the one that people compare to clogs or tap shoes, but theyre actually different, both in the material and the way its made.

On top of that, there are also the big dresses and curly-haired wigs, which, to Day, is pretty different from other styles of dance.

Evie Jimenez, a masters student at BYU, has been involved with the BYU Irish Dance Club since 2020, back when she was an undergrad.

During Jimenez's freshman year, the club had just restarted, and she has stuck with the club through the years, including in administrative roles.

A memory that will always stand out to Jimenez was when she sprained her ankle two years ago.

"The club members rallied around me, drove with me to the hospital, stayed with me there, made sure I had what I needed to recover and checked in daily for weeks," Jimenez said. "I feel so grateful to know how loved I am by my peers."

From swing dancing to tap dancing, and, of course, Irish dancing, there are many options for BYU students to join a dance-centered club.

If interested in learning more about the BYU Irish Dance Club, visit its website or Instagram page @byuirishdance.