ST. ANNS, N.S. — When the weather gets colder, many people join the bears and head into hibernation but if you’re aching for some homegrown music, keep the Gaelic College’s Wednesday night ceilidhs in mind.
This will be the third year for the college’s winter ceilidhs. Gaelic College CEO Rodney MacDonald said he decided to go ahead with the event year-round to keep spirits alive during the dreary cold months.
“About two years ago I had been talking to our staff and I indicated that I would like to extend our Wednesday night offering into the fall and make it year-round,” says MacDonald. “So we took a chance on it and we were fortunate to have some companies and the municipality locally and individuals who gave us some support as well to get it going.
“So now we have a regular Wednesday night ceilidh year-round and it runs from 7:30 to 9 p.m. In the summer it’s in Hall of The Clans, and once we move to the end of August, until the end of June we’re moving into MacKenzie Hall and people are treated to tea and our world-famous oatcakes here and coffee and they’ll see some great musicians.”
While people from around the world attend the ceilidhs in the summertime, visitors to the winter ceilidhs are more likely to come from around Cape Breton and for MacDonald, that’s just as important.
“January and February and the beginning of March are the toughest time of the year but there are some die-hards and so we present an opportunity for $10 for people to come out and enjoy an evening of music,” says MacDonald. “I’ve seen people from northern Victoria County who make their way down to the Gaelic College and other parts of the island and they make this their weekly stop.”
The college also offers events such as conferences throughout the winter and sometimes, those attending will remain a little later so they can take in a ceilidh. The craft shop also remains open during the winter months, from Tuesday to Friday.
“We’re a year-round institution and this is one of those items that we do on a year-round basis that people don’t even realize. We want to promote the music and the culture of the island.”
There are a few times that there are no ceilidhs — during Celtic Colours because of other events scheduled during the week and during Christmas when the college closes for the holidays. However, the final ceilidh of 2019 on Dec. 18 is devoted to Christmas with a tree-lighting and seasonal music.
“And that’s usually well-attended,” says MacDonald. “Connie and Larry MacAskill will be there to perform. Along with them, Margie Beaton and Kenneth MacKenzie and myself and Colin MacDonald and Joyce MacDonald will be around on the 18th.”
The lineup of ceilidhs for the new year will be posted online at https://gaeliccollege.edu sometime in December.
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