CELTIC COLOURS
Festival’s legacy includes planting of red maples
Festival’s legacy includes the planting of thousands of red maple trees.
As a youngster, I was involved with Scouts Canada, first as a Beaver and then a Cub. Along with Apple Day, Kub Kar Rallies, camping trips, and earning badges, probably the most lasting memory I have of my days as a Beaver and Cub is Trees for Canada.
The way I remember it, we went around the neighbourhood, going door-to-door collecting pledges for the trees we would plant. Then when planting day came, we trudged out here, there and everywhere to plant the saplings in the ground.
Now more than 30 (ok, closer to 40) years later, I have never forgotten about my Trees for Canada experience. It’s not because I still remember the cold, wet, spring planting days (although I do), but because when I drive by certain areas in our community I see the trees that I planted with my own eight, nine and 10-year-old hands. And I realize what an impressive legacy it is to have been involved in.
This year at Celtic Colours, like most of the rest of the country, we are celebrating Canada’s 150th anniversary with a number of special projects and initiatives. One of those is The Maple Project, an initiative, in partnership with Strathlorne Nursery in Inverness, to plant a maple tree for every concert ticket sold this year. As artistic director Dawn Beaton explains, it’s a lasting legacy project that gives back, and fits in nicely with this year’s theme of roots.
“This came from some thinking on my part regarding the festival,” says the Mabou native, who has worked at Celtic Colours since 2009, and been performing in the festival since it started in 1997.
“At Celtic Colours we have focused a lot on the ‘Celtic’ part of the festival, working with youth programs, like Fèis Cheap Breatuinn, to give them opportunities within the programming of the festival. But with various bug blights over the years, our ‘Colours’ in Cape Breton now needed some attention.”
Beaton also points out that the festival operates on a decentralized model, making it necessary to drive around the island in order to take it all in.
“We are always aware of our carbon footprint so planting trees seemed like a great solution.”
And planting red maple trees, in particular, seems like an obvious choice.
“There are various trees within Gaelic folklore that would have also made a good choice, but in light of Canada’s 150th anniversary, and the colours they provide to the landscape, not to mention the soil retention qualities of their roots, red maple trees were the right choice.”
Another way Celtic Colours is exploring roots and celebrating Canada this year is with a focus on programming that reflects many parts of the country, including western and northern Canada, and artists representing Indigenous, Acadian,
and Québécois communities, along with the traditional mix of local and international artists that Celtic Colours is known for.
These artists are programmed throughout the festival, but The Bell Series: Celebrating Canada will have a special focus on Canadian artists. The series, which started in 2007, features festival artists giving a behindthe-music perspective into their life and work.
Ten Strings and a Goat Skin (PEI), IVA (Nunavut), Shane Cook (Ontario), The Small Glories (Manitoba), and one of this year’s Artists in Residence, James Keelaghan (Manitoba), will share their music and stories in this special “Celebrating Canada” edition of the series, running October 9-13 at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site in Baddeck.
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 or call 902-567-3000 (local), 1-888-3557744 (toll free). If you are in the area, why not drop by the Celtic Colours box office on Nepean Street in Sydney and browse the selection of merchandise on sale, including books, music, apparel, and hand-made craft items designed exclusively for the festival.
Local writer and musician Dave Mahalik has worked as Celtic Colours International Festival’s Information / Communications Officer for 18 years. His book about Celtic Colours, 10 Nights Without Sleep, is available from Breton Books, and his column appears regularly leading up to Celtic Colours in October. He can be reached at dave@celtic-colours.com.