Celtic Music Interpretive Centre buzzing with activity throughout the winter

Great Celtic music can be enjoyed throughout the year in Cape Breton, particularly at the Celtic Music Interpretive Centre.

On Thursdays, there are lively Tune Sessions at 7:30pm. If you play the fiddle, piano, guitar, pipes, etc., you’re encouraged to bring your instruments and join in. If you don’t play, feel free to come by and tap your toes to the music.

Every Sunday the Centre hosts a weekly ceilidh from 3:00pm to 6:30pm, featuring some of Cape Breton’s finest musicians. Upcoming ceilidhs will feature such talented artists as Mike Hall, Mac Morin, Sandy MacDonald, Kinnon and Betty Lou Beaton, Andrea Beaton, Shelly Campbell, Joel Chiasson, Douglas Cameron, Robbie Fraser, Glenn Graham and many others.

For more information on the schedule of upcoming events at the Celtic Music Interpretive Centre, click here.

Gaelic Weekend featuring TIP (Total Immersion Plus) coming up at the Gaelic College

If you’re interested in learning Gaelic or sharpening your skills, you’ll definitely want to attend the Adult Gaelic Weekend coming up on February 13-14, 2010 at the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts. The weekend will feature TIP (Total Immersion Plus) Workshops for Beginner, Advanced Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced adult students.

The weekend will include:

• Song Workshops at Beginner and Intermediate/Advanced Levels
• A Storytelling Session, with English translation, to allow everyone to relax and enjoy one of the favourite entertainments of Gaels everywhere.
• An evening Milling Frolic, which will bring together singers from many communities. To help everyone enjoy the experience, the evening will begin with a Milling Song workshop where participants will learn and practice choruses to some of the more popular songs.
• A Ceilidh following the Milling Frolic, which will follow the tradition of the Gaelic House-Ceilidh where people provide their own entertainment. Everyone is encouraged to contribute to the evening’s enjoyment, whether that be by playing an instrument, singing a song, telling a story, taking part in the dance, or by sitting back and being an appreciative audience.

Participants can choose to stay at the College for the weekend or attend as a day student.

For more information and to register, click here.

An Rubha, Highland Village Gaelic Folklife Magazine, now available online

The Highland Village/An Clachan Gàidhealach has been producing An Rubha, its Gaelic Folklife Magazine, over the past decade. The magazine is an absolute treasure of articles, stories, songs and history that cover many diverse facets of Cape Breton’s rich Gaelic culture. For those learning Gaelic, the magazine contains much of its content in Gaelic along with the English translation.

To download the latest issue of the magazine, click here.

Past issues of An Rubha and its predecessor, Naidheachd a’ Chlachain, are also available for download by clicking here.

Enjoy!