Mahalik: Celtic Colours at home.
Take in the annual international festival from the comfort of your sofa
Well, here we are in October with Thanksgiving weekend on the horizon and while the leaves are starting to take on their famous fall colours and that familiar chill is in the air, something seems different.
Of course, it is 2020 and pretty much everything has been different this year. But for me, the thing that really stands out is that for the first time in more than 20 years, I'll be having Thanksgiving dinner at home, with my family on Thanksgiving Day.
Usually on this long weekend, or since 1997 anyway, I would be on the road somewhere on this beautiful island of ours, working my way through the busy first weekend of Celtic Colours International Festival, and preparing for a mostly sleepless week ahead. But this year is different. This year, I will be home this weekend, and all through the week, enjoying Celtic Colours from the comfort of my living room.
Back in the spring — because of the COVID-19 pandemic — the difficult decision was made that instead of hosting events all over Cape Breton Island this year, Celtic Colours would present a nightly series of concerts streamed live from the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre, Oct. 9-17.
Produced in partnership with NovaStream and Soundpark Studios, Celtic Colours At Home will feature a mix of live and prerecorded performances by artists from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, P.E.I., Quebec, Ontario, Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
Each night's concert will start at 7:30 p.m., following a 30-minute preshow, and all of the concerts are free of charge, with no access fees, tickets or registration required.
I am very much looking forward to settling in at home to catch the nightly preshow, starting at 7 p.m. Hosted by Margie and Dawn Beaton, the preshow will highlight some of the festival's community partners and Cape Breton Island's breathtaking scenery as well as the Beatons sharing stories from the island and chatting with folks on the ground.
I expect the whole experience will feel a little like gathering around the radio in days of yore to listen to your favourite program, only with high definition video and a chance to chat with folks from around the world who are also tuning in.
Although the concerts are completely free to watch, Celtic Colours will be accepting donations throughout the festival. A portion of donations received will be shared with the Festival Driver's Association to enable its members to continue providing support to artists on Cape Breton Island through the
Frank (Big Sampie) Sampson Award, the John Allan Cameron Bursary, and other initiatives that help support individuals and groups to attend competitions, travel to perform and facilitate student exchange.
In addition to free access to the livestreams, Celtic Colours is holding a contest which is also free to enter through the festival's website, offering the chance to win tickets to concerts for Celtic Colours 2021, a free car rental from Enterprise Rent-a-Car, accommodations in Baddeck and Membertou, gift certificates from local businesses, and some cash for expenses.
While entry into the contest is free, additional ballots can be earned through donations to the festival — one additional ballot will be earned for each donation of $20. The contest winner will be drawn following the festival, once all of the donations have been received and tabulated, to ensure that everyone has the proper number of ballots.
Whether you are watching on your home computer, laptop, phone or tablet; streaming to your TV via Chromecast, Roku or other such device; or using the YouTube or Facebook app on your smart TV, you can tune in to the concerts, and the pre-show, through the Celtic Colours website (celtic-colours.com), on YouTube (youtube.com/user/ celticcolours) and Facebook (facebook.com/celticcolours).
All concerts will be available for viewing until the end of October.
Celtic Colours at Home is presented by TD Bank Group, with the support of ACOA, Canadian Heritage, the Province of Nova Scotia, and its many other partners.
For information on this year's festival, the full lineup of artists and the schedule, visit celtic-colours.com.
Local writer and musician Dave Mahalik has worked as Celtic Colours International Festival’s information/communications officer for more than 20 years, after volunteering as a driver for the first two years. His book about Celtic Colours, 10 Nights Without Sleep, is available from Breton Books.