The second Celtic Colours International Festival Concert to grace Richmond takes place on October 12th, in a community steeped in Irish Culture. Lower River Inhabitance was first settled many years ago by Irish immigrants. But why wait until the evening to start enjoying Celtic music when you can visit the Community of L’Ardoise for an afternoon of Sounds and Supper by the Sea from 1-5pm. Enjoy live music, songs, stories and interactive opportunities and a great lobster supper. Local fishermen, musicians and artisans will be on hand for an unforgettable experience. Then enjoy a lobster supper at the local lobster pound, this mouth watering meal includes a 1½lb lobster with down east style trimmings, at a cost of $30.00. Seating is limited for this very popular event, so reservations are highly recommended. For reservations and more information call 1-902-587-2202.
Then head for “A Touch of the Irish”, the Celtic Colours event just 40 minutes away in Lower River. Those who enjoy music with an Irish flair will definitely want to take in this concert. The event has reserved seating and tickets are $25 and $20 and takes place at the Riverdale Community Center starting at 7:30pm. A Touch of the Irish has an excellent array of talent and it is as much of an Irish event as you will be able to find outside of Ireland itself. The lineup includes Irish fiddler Liz Doherty who comes from Donegal. She will perform with fiddler Louise Hunter, accordionist Jim Woods and guitarist Ian Carr. Also at the venue is Dublin based Sean McKeon and Liam O’Connor bringing Uillean pipes and fiddle. Also performing will be Maire O’Keefe with her repertoire of Irish and Cape Breton fiddle tunes, John Doyle an Irish American guitarist, and mixed in the group is our own Darrell Keigan who will be doing a beautiful variety of Irish songs for the concert. This fine mix of fiddle, guitar and vocals will have you believing you are in Ireland if only for one entertaining night.
Don’t let the fall of the final curtain end the entertainment for the evening, the “Kitchen Racket” is the place to head next. Here concert goers can enjoy the after hours Celtic Colours party “The Kitchen Racket”, where music will fill out the night from 10pm to 2am. This after hours party at the Bras d’Or Lakes Inn will run from October 8 to the 11th and October 13th to the 16th, and at the Dundee Resort and Golf Club on October 12th. Admission to the party is $5.00 without your concert stub from that evenings event or $2.00 with your concert stub.
There are lots of behind the scene activities connected to the Celtic Colours Festival that you might find interesting. During the concert series, the entertainers have volunteer drivers who have been working with the festival over the years. These drivers take the musicians to and from venues around the Island, but did you know that they also help sell the musician’s CDs at the concert venue and in return they get to take the first 10% of the cost of the CD. These generous volunteers are not doing this for themselves, they use the funds raised from these CDs to sponsor a scholarship for young upcoming artists to help produce their first CD. Score one for Cape Breton goodwill created by this amazing festival and the people behind the scenes.
Another point of interest for all those who enjoy camping, whether RV or tenting. Battery Provincial Park in St. Peter’s has closed for the season as of September 13th. With the approach of the Celtic Colours traffic and seeing many RVs driving through the area now, my feeling is that the Park closes too early. I understand cutbacks, but the tourism industry is trying to encourage visitors to come to Cape Breton during the shoulder season and telling visitors when they come to St. Peter’s that the park has closed for the season does not help give our visitors the experience they are looking for. We are taking signatures for a petition to see if we can have the season extended until after Celtic Colours next year. If you would like to help drop in and sign the petition at the Visitor Information Centre in St. Peter’s or send an email of support to me at annmarieyorke@hotmail.com and I will forward it along with the petition. Let us help extend our shoulder season on the south side of Cape Breton.
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