March 12, 2010

Hello Folks!

Happy March Break, St. Patrickâs Day, and Happy Easter to you and yours! 2009 saw us going to the Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival where we enjoyed the hospitality of the Chaissons and all the other great fiddlers on that island. As well, at our summer festival, we were thrilled to welcome fiddler groups from both Glengarry, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island. We had a fabulous Christmas Over-Nighter at the College. Those who attended laughed, fiddled, danced, sang, and ate! Many world problems were solved during conversations from 1:00 a.m. onwards.

The Board of Directors, as promised in last yearâs Fiddlers Info, has invited two great gals from Victoria County to join our ranks. Pauline Davis and Julia MacKenzie have graciously accepted our invitation. Each of these brings their individual talent to the Board. Welcome, Ladies!

What can one say about Celtic Colours??? It was exciting, interesting, and enlightening. The various guests from away certainly enhanced the concert. Of course, THE FIDDLERS, THE PIANISTS, AND ALL THE GREAT ENTERTAINERS WERE GREAT!

The Festival of Cape Breton Fiddling 2009 saw us use a different format. While the times may have changed, the hardworking folks who volunteered everywhere did not! We could not host this event without the wonderful volunteers! Thanks to each and every one of you! The Board of Directors met to discuss the 2009 festival, and it felt that we need to make yet more changes. It was agreed by all that the workshops on Sunday made the day much too rushed. For 2010, the schedule is as follows:

Saturday, August 21 Workshops (fiddle, piano, stepdancing) 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Ceilidh (featuring Youth Members) 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

unday, August 22 Gala Concert 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Please remember that the youth members must play their solo on Saturday. Per usual, everything takes place at the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts, St. Annâs.

Our best wishes go out to Helen MacDonald. She had a nasty accident last summer, but she is on the mend now! As well, Sharon Urquhart is unwell at this time. She is in great cheer, and I know she would appreciate your prayers. As well, our congratulations go to:

Sonny and Margie Murray on their 50^th anniversary

Elaine Handrahan on her marriage to

Lisa Gallant and Boyd MacNeil on their marriage

Jean and Columba MacNeil on their 50^th anniversary

Robert and Kelly Deveau on the birth of their beautiful daughter, Adele Rosemarie Jeanne

Andrea Beaton on her ECMA award for Instrumental Recording of the year

Dawn/Margie Beaton on their ECMA award for Roots/Traditional group recording of the year

Since our last newsletter in March, 2009, yet more wonderful musicians have passed away. Besides this, many others have suffered great losses.

Our prayers and condolences go to:

Albert Aucoin on the death of his grandson, Darren Watts

Shawn MacKinnon on the death of his father, Lloyd MacKinnon

Roger/Lisa/Gary Gallant on the death of their mother/grandmother, Helen (Nellie) Gallant

Paul Cranford and Sarah Beck on the death of Paulâs father, Jack Cranford

Sadie MacPhee on the death of her sister, Kaye, and her daughter, Kaye Dickson

Howie, Marilyn, and Evelyn MacDonald on the death of their cousin, Dougie MacDonald

The family of the late Bussie MacLeod

The family of the late Jerry Holland

The family of the late Didace LeBlanc

The family of the late John Henry Stone, St. Peterâs

Bussie MacLeod was truly a gentle man who was very humble and kind. He was well-loved in his community and by his friends. He and Maynard made some lovely music together. As well, another wonderful fiddler and composer, Jerry Holland, lost his battle with cancer. He entertained people from all over the world, and his music will last wherever Celtic music is heard. Didace LeBlanc was also a quiet man who played great tunes and entertained many, many people at his home after several Grand Etang concerts! Dougie MacDonaldâs death was so sudden. He was a young man in his prime who would have continued to give so much music to fiddle lovers. Please keep them in your prayers.

To quote the kids, our new website is WICKED! It is vivid, colorful, and exciting! There are hundreds of pictures on there from many, many events over the past thirty-seven years. Also, there are up-to-date articles about fiddlers and other musicians; there will be tunes to practice, as soon as Eddy, Bob, and I can get our act together! Be sure to visit our site, www.capebretonfiddlers.com and enjoy!

Last, but not least, some members are eagerly awaiting the summer because we are heading to the Glengarry Highland Games in Ontario. We will be leaving on Tuesday, July 27, and returning on Tuesday, August 3. These games are the largest of their kind in North America, and we have also enjoyed ourselves immensely when we went there in the past. Fun, fiddling, partying, and excitement are the order of the day for this venture!

In the issue of Fiddlersâ Info 27, there is a short note from Eddy; the Festival and Year-End budgets; a registration form; dates for the Spring ceilidhs, and a lovely tune from Jean MacNeil. Thanks, Jean! Hope to see you at some of the practices if you can make them!

Yours in music,

Betty Matheson, for the C.B.F.A.

Just a short note from Eddy:

At the last practice, I passed out some new sets. In the very near future, many of the sets will be posted on our new website. Some may already be there; I am not sure. As well, you will be able to listen to some of the tunes very soon. We will be using some of the older groups this summer, one of which will be the Gay Gordon set. New sets are:

Compliments to Buddy MacMaster Set

Memories of Paddy LeBlanc Set

New Set of Jigs in âFâ

I am not going to list all the tunes in these sets because they will be online soon.

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