Ceilidhs Are Nearby Cabot Shores
Get me to the church on time is an old expression and it takes on more meaning when it involves great Celtic Music at Ceilidhs near Cabot Shores at the St. Ann’s Bay United Church. A Ceilidh is a traditional Scottish or Irish social occasion usually involving music and dancing.
Every Tuesday and Friday night all summer, starting on July 9th, some of our best Cape Breton musicians are featured in the intimate Tea Room. You’ll see instruments such as the Irish fiddle, guitar, Irish pipes, bouzouki, mandolin, tenor banjo, flute, accordion, whistles and even a harp. There will be the occasional singer, step dancer and even the occasional Gaelic story-teller.
Stop By Cabot Shores Bistro on Ceilidh Nights
The Church is just 3km from Cabot Shores. We often board the musicians and occasionally feed them. We can feed you to from our menu featuring local seafood, meats and special vegetables and fruits from our organic gardens and orchards. During summer it’s good to reserve a table or just to drop into Cabot Shores (you don’t have to be a guest to eat here). And stay tuned for special Get You to the Church on time features Tuesdays and Friday nights.
Cape Breton Musicians and Locals Flock to the Ceilidhs
There are many music venues around Cape Breton Island, and Celtic Colours Festival in October attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world…but the bi-weekly Ceilidhs attract local fans of Celtic Music and local musicians who have a world wide following: including the Barra MacNeils, Darn and Margie Beaton who run Celtic Colours and head up marketing for the Gaelic College, the amazing Dwayne Cote who matches the world-renowned Natalie MacMaster in technique, Otis Thomas a fiddler and lothier; the legendary Brenda Stubbert, and Paul Cranford who was the Patron of World Fiddle Day and has contributed more than anyone to publishing the best of Cape Breton Fiddle Music including works composed or arranged by Winston Fitzgerald, Jerry Holland, Brenda Stubbert, Ray Ellis and Alley Bennett among others. For these contributions Paul Cranford was named Patron of World Fiddle Day the for contributions to worldwide Celtic fiddle music. Cranford’s excellent books, recordings and other resources are available at Cranford Publications.
The first concert featured fiddler Dwayne Cote and guitarist/vocalist Jason MacDonald. Here is a short video taken at the Ceilidh.
