Plenty of Celtic Colours tickets left.
Plenty of tickets still available for 21st edition of popular festival
Where does the time go? I realize that’s a very clichéd “end of the season” thing to say, but it doesn’t seem like very long ago that we were getting all geared up for the 20th Celtic Colours International Festival. And now here we are again. While everyone was busy enjoying a lovely Cape Breton summer, September snuck up on us. Beach days are done, the last long weekend of the summer has come and gone, and school’s back in session. It won’t be long now until the days are very noticeably shorter and the leaves start to lose their green in favour of the orange, yellow and red that makes the Island such a popular destination in autumn. Of course, that also means that Celtic Colours, Cape Breton’s annual island-wide celebration of music, culture, and tradition, will be starting again in just a few weeks.
With all the hoopla of the festival’s big milestone last year, we were wondering around the office what would happen this year. I mean, big anniversaries are big deals and attract attention.
We knew that.
We expected that.
And we were right, it was a big year. But then what happens, after all the hoopla dies down and the year specific celebration is over?
As it turns out, things are looking pretty good for this year’s festival. Dawn Beaton, artistic director of Celtic Colours, has put together another impressive lineup of local favourites and international artists that has been creating lots of excitement both here in the office, and from the public. Along with more than 200 Cape Breton singers, players and dancers, this year’s festival will include some pretty impressive players coming from Ireland, Scotland, the U.K., the U.S. and across Canada.
When tickets finally went on sale in early July, the box office was over-run with requests, but, like the stars they are, the award-winning staff took it all in stride. At the end of the day we had nine shows sold out. And by the end of the week it was 13. By far the busiest opening we’ve ever had.
At this point, about half of our concerts are sold out. That’s a lot for this time of year. We’ve never been in this position before. The thing is, though, if half the shows are sold out that means that half of the shows have tickets available. And if we’re talking about Celtic Colours, we’re talking about 49 concerts over nine days, so that means there are plenty of tickets left for around 25 concerts. Far more than one person can fit into that timeframe.
Although concerts have been selling out and opportunities are becoming more limited, there’s no need to worry about missing any of the fantastic artists scheduled for 2017. You can still catch the superstar trio of Michael McGoldrick, John McCusker and John Doyle, and Cape Breton supergroup Còig, during We Walk As One: The Grand Opening at Centre 200 in Sydney on October 6. Tickets are also still available to see Nashville banjo sensation Alison Brown and the in
comparable Cape Breton fiddler Dwayne Côté in the Big Ceilidh at the Big Fiddle, October 13 at the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion. And finally, The Grand Finale concert in Port Hawkesbury on October 14 is the only chance left to see Rhiannon Giddens and Dirk Powell. Don’t miss this opportunity to see these highlyrespected, Grammy-award winning performers.
The 21st Celtic Colours International Festival runs from October 6-14, 2017, featuring concerts and cultural events in more than 60 communities all over Cape Breton Island. For tickets or more information visit celtic-colours. com, call 902-567-3000 (local), 1-888-355-7744 (toll free), or drop in at the Celtic Colours Box Office on Nepean Street in Sydney.