Celtic Colours at the Museum 2016

dscf3181On Tuesday, October 11th, the Chestico Museum hosted a Celtic Tales & Colourful Yarns storytelling session at the museum. The event was part of Celtic Colours Cultural Experiences series. We were thrilled to welcome a large crowd – including some locals as well as guests from across Canada, the United States and even a group from Scotland.

This year our focus was colourful characters people from the past. Although not “famous” as such, these individuals were both interesting and entertaining. We had two wonderful storytellers with us who generously gave of their time.

Longtime Historical Society volunteer John Gillies had a number of well received stories including ones about Kate Liz (Moran) Cail, Albert Muise and Fr. Donald MacPherson.

We were also pleased to welcome back a past storyteller, Isaac MacEachen, who was in costume to regale us with his tales of Sandy Jim MacDonald!

Chestico Historical Society Past President Anne Beaton was our emcee and she joined in on the fun with stories about John and Isaac. We even had a chance to hear from some audience members.

There were a number of draws for door prizes throughout the afternoon and our winners went home with an assortment of hand crafted items.

At the end of the Storytelling we had the draw for the Chestico Tartan Blanket. Our winner was Bernard G. MacDonald from Mabou. Congratulations Bernie!

You can view some photos of the day on our Facebook page.

Celtic Colours 2016 Storytelling

celtic-colours-2016-posterIn conjunction with Celtic Colours , the Chestico Museum will host a Celtic Tales & Colourful Yarns Storytelling Session on Tuesday, October 11th from 2:00 until 3:30 PM.

Our storytellers will be John Gillies, Isaac MacEachen and Rachel Scarano. They will share many lighthearted and colourful tales about local people from the past. Although not “famous” as such, these individuals were both interesting and entertaining.

Admission is $10 and tea, biscuits and oatcakes will be served.

Prior to our Storytelling, you can purchase a delicious soup and sandwich lunch for $10 at St. Stephen’s Church Hall from 11 AM until 1 PM. After lunch you can browse their sale of assorted local crafts.

A roast beef dinner with all the trimmings is available that evening at St. Peter’s Parish Hall from 4:30 until 6:30 PM. The meal is sponsored by the Port Hood Knights of Columbus. The cost is $16 for adults and $8 for children under 12.

And of course our Close to the Floor show will be held at Strathspey Place in Mabou at 7:30 PM. Hopefully you have purchased your tickets because the concert is sold out!

We look forward to seeing you this year during Celtic Colours!

August 25, 2016 Ceilidh

DSCF2933The final ceilidh of the Chestico Museum’s 2016 summer ceilidh series was held on Thursday, August 25 and we had a big crowd in attendance!

We were thrilled to have Dara Smith-MacDonald as our fiddler and Joey Beaton of Mabou was here to accompany her on the piano. Joey also played a couple of solo pieces for us.

Bill MacDonald of Judique was back for the second time this year. Bill is a great guitar player who joined in with Dara and Joey, treated us to his wonderful rendition of “Kitchen Racket” and accompanied Marie Aucoin.

Marie has a lovely voice and we enjoyed her performances of “The Briar and the Rose”, “Home I’ll Be” and “Danny Boy”.

It was a great end to our ceilidh season. Our ceilidhs were organized by summer students Shannon MacLennan and Kati vanZutphen. They did a great job and we thank them for all their hard work!

Thank you as well to everyone who so generously gave of their time to perform at our ceilidhs, to all who baked for our ceilidh teas and to everyone who came out to support us on Thursday evenings this summer. We hope to see you all again next year!

You can view  photos of the evening on our Facebook page. You can also watch videos of Dara, Joey and Bill, Joey, Bill and Marie & Bill.

 

Final Ceilidh: August 25, 2016

August 25The final ceilidh of our 2016 summer ceilidh series will be Thursday, August 25 at 7 PM at the museum.

This week our entertainment will be:

Dara Smith-MacDonald – Fiddle

Joey Beaton – Piano

Marie Aucoin – Vocals

Bill MacDonald – Guitar & Vocals

Admission is $5. Tea and light refreshments will be served following the show.

We hope to see you Thursday as we close out our 2016 Summer Ceilidh Series!

August 18, 2016 Ceilidh

DSCF2910The seventh ceilidh of the Chestico Museum’s 2016 summer ceilidh series was held on August 18th.

We were happy to have Alain Pelletier with us as our fiddler. Alain is the proprietor if the Fiddle and the Sea Bed & Breakfast in Port Hood. He also treats his guests to his fiddle tunes!

Pius MacIsaac was back with us for another ceilidh. He accompanied Alain and also did a few solo numbers.

And last but not least we had Lauchie Beaton to sing for us. Lauchie brought Rita Rankin along with him and their voices blended together beautifully.

You can view  photos of the evening on our Facebook page. You can also watch videos of Alain and Pius, Pius and Lauchie and Rita.

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