Malad Valley celebrates Welsh heritage with weekend festival
"The valley looked like Wales with its hills and mountains"
Jean Thomas, Festival Co-chair
MALAD, Idaho (KIFI) — The Malad Valley Welsh Festival commemorates the traditions and culture of early religious settlers who came from Wales. Organizers have put on the festival every year since 2005.
Attendees can enjoy traditional Welsh food, live music and poetry recitations, face painting, a dunk tank, wagon tours, a quilt show, a bake sale and more. While it is largely inspired by the Welsh Eisteddfod, the festival has been adapted with more Americanized foods and activities.
Festival Co-Chair Jean Thomas is 100 percent Welsh. She says as Welsh Saints made their way to Zion, they chose to settle in Malad because it reminded them of home.
"The story is they thought the valley looked like Wales with its hills and mountains, which means they came in the spring because Wales is green all year round," she said.
Thomas reasoned that the pioneers must have been surprised at the harsh winters of Idaho. Nevertheless, descendants of Welsh pioneers still reside in the valley to this day. That's a big reason why the Malad High School mascot in a dragon — the symbol that also appears on the Welsh flag.
You can learn more about this event from the Malad Valley Welsh Festival Facebook page. For the full festival itinerary click HERE.
