The castle at Cardigan has undergone a major restoration, and now hosts many events including music, food and craft fairs as well as classes to learn Welsh and harp playing. There is a permanent exhibition at the castle explaining the traditions of the Eisteddfod and ceremonial items which we are not able to view so closely are on display.
Celebrating 850 Years of the Eisteddfod with Carreg Filltir Las: Taith Yr Arglwydd Rhys
A week‑long cultural journey across west Wales will mark the 850th anniversary of the first Eisteddfod this summer
Carreg Filltir Las: Taith Yr Arglwydd Rhys will travel through local towns and villages before culminating in a public celebration at Cardigan Castle.
Billed as a ‘giant procession and immersive celebration’, the event will see Lord Rhys – the founder of the tradition that continues today in the National Eisteddfod – awaken at St David’s Cathedral on 19 June. From there he will journey to locations linked to past Eisteddfod chair‑winning poets, with site‑specific ceremonies created in collaboration with local communities, featuring poet Ceri Wyn Jones, singer Mari Mathias and performer Eddie Ladd.
The centrepiece of the project will be a procession through the streets of Cardigan on Saturday, 27 June, led by a giant puppet of Lord Rhys created by Small World Theatre and his hound Teifi, made by Skeleton Crew. Also taking part will be Spraoi Festival from Waterford, Ireland, who will be bringing their magical floats to enhance the parade.
This will be the first time for them to perform in Wales, and we are delighted that Cultural Ireland and Wales Arts International are supporting their visit. The procession will end at the quay, where contemporary poets and this year’s Eisteddfod chair will arrive by flotilla on the river and the crown on horseback, before audiences are led up to the castle for a large-scale multi-arts celebration marking 850 years of tradition.
Marc Rees, creative lead for the project, said the anniversary offered a rare opportunity. “I am delighted to have been asked to help shape this milestone moment. My work is site and community‑responsive and reimagines historical events through a contemporary multi‑arts lens. This anniversary is the perfect canvas to honour the legacy of Lord Rhys, and I am looking forward to bringing this historic moment vividly to life.”
Betsan Moses, Chief Executive of the Eisteddfod, added: “Bringing together community, heritage and contemporary performance, Carreg Filltir Las: Taith Yr Arglwydd Rhys promises to be a powerful celebration of the National Eisteddfod, honouring its origins while looking ahead to its future.”
In 1176, Lord Rhys ap Gruffydd hosted a historic gathering at his newly built castle in Cardigan where poets, musicians and performers competed for the honour of the bardic chair. This occasion established a tradition that continues today in the National Eisteddfod of Wales, Europe’s largest cultural festival celebrating Welsh language, arts and heritage.
Eisteddfod ceremonies
A proclamation ceremony is held the year before the National Eisteddfod visits an area. The ceremony is usually held among the stones of the Gorsedd of Bards. Spot these at Aberystwyth (in the castle grounds) and in parks in Cardigan and Lampeter. 
There are several ceremonies held during the eisteddfod week. The most prestigious is the 'chairing' of the bard. Each year a new chair is designed, for the winning poet to keep. You can see a collection of eisteddfod chairs at the National Library of Wales. The chairs are intricately carved with symbols - can you spot which one of these imposing Eisteddfod chairs that was donated by the Welsh community of New Zealand?
Experience an Eisteddfod in Ceredigion
Today, the modern eisteddfod is a festival where competitions in poetry, reciting, dance, drama, arts and craft and much more are held. Ceredigion has a strong Eisteddfod tradition, with Eisteddfodau (more than one eisteddfod) held in towns and villages all over Ceredigion. They are part of the family of eisteddfodau held around the world from Australia to Patagonia.
By visiting an eisteddfod you will witness an authentic and traditional Welsh language community event which showcases the living culture of the area.
Competitions can usually be grouped into two categories:
• competitions on stage (e.g., singing, recitation, acting, dancing, musical instruments)
• competitions judged before the day of the eisteddfod (e.g., literature, arts and craft).
Most village eisteddfodau are held on Saturday in a chapel or village hall. Some last an afternoon and evening whilst others last a whole weekend.
The eisteddfod ‘season’ is usually between September and mid July with a break in August when the National Eisteddfod is held. You can enjoy a feast of singing and recitation, all in Welsh, and be entertained and enchanted by accomplished local talents and even some future stars.
The most prestigious literary prizes at an eisteddfod are the bardic chair and the bardic crown, one won for an ‘awdl’ poem written in strict metre, and the other for work in ‘vers libre’. Several Ceredigion poets have won these highest of accolades, but only a handful of poets have ever managed to win ‘the double’ of both Eisteddfod chair and crown. One of these is Donald Evans of Talgarreg, who achieved this feat not once, but twice.
Local eisteddfod winners have gone on to become national and even international stars. Competition at the annual Young Farmers’ eisteddfod is also keen, with competitions ranging from serious literature and music to comedy.
