Celtic Colours 2010

The 2010 Celtic Colours lineup has been announced! The Chestico Museum is pleased to once again be hosting two events.

On Tuesday, October 12th at 2 PM, Storytelling & Afternoon Tea will be held at the museum.  Local storytellers Barbara Cameron, John Gillies and guests will tell stories featuring women of Port Hood and Port Hood Island. Tea and oatcakes will be served. The cost is $10.

The evening of October 12th, the Chestico Museum show Close to the Floor will be held at  7: 30 PM at Strathspey Place in Mabou. Every year our show is dedicated to dance. This year, in keeping with the Celtic Colours theme of “coming home”, we welcome the Scottish pipe band Seudan who play the pipes in the dance style. Angus MacKenzie, who was brought up in Mabou, plays in this group. As always, some of Cape Breton’s top dancers and musicians will also be featured.

Ticket prices are $35/$25/$20 and are available through the Celtic Colours site or the Strathspey Place Box Office.  Tickets go on sale Monday, July 5th at 9 AM ADT.

Between the Storytelling and Close to the Floor concert, you will find a delicious roast beef dinner in Port Hood at St. Peter’s Parish Hall beginning at 4 PM.  The meal is sponsored by the Port Hood Knights of Columbus.  The cost is $12 for adults and $7 for children 12 and under.

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

Canada Games Torch at Chestico Days!

Hard as it is to believe, we are already half way through the month of June. Of course that means that Chestico Days is just around the corner!

Chestico Days is always eagerly anticipated in Port Hood. This year we will have one more reason to celebrate as the 2011 Canada Games Torch will be part of the Chestico Days Street Parade!

Youth between the ages of 12 and 21 can enter for a chance to carry the torch. Be sure to select Chestico Days as your event of choice!

We hope to see you at the parade on July 31st as the torch ignites the spirit of Port Hood!

For more information on this event, please refer to the Chestico Days / Canada Games Poster.

Slideshow Series

The Chestico Museum & Historical Society will be showing slideshow presentations throughout the month of June. They will be shown at the museum and begin at 7pm. Admission is $5.00 a person. The dates for these presentations are as follows:

Thursday June 10th, 2010 – Port Hood: A Journey Back

Thursday June 17th, 2010 – Al MacInnis: Induction into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame & Commentary by Gary Trenholm on the Induction of his coach David Fraser into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame

Thursday June 24th, 2010 – Coal Mine Disasters in Port Hood

Wednesday June 30th, 2010 – Bruce Beaton: Induction into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame & Lofty MacMillan: National Labour Leader

Hope to see you there!!

Historical Newspapers Online

Nova Scotia Historical Newspapers Online

Today a new website was launched – Nova Scotia Historical Newspapers Online.  This project was sponsored by Libraries Nova Scotia and digitization was carried out in Halifax at the Nova Scotia Archives and in Sydney at the Beaton Institute.

 All together, over 19,000 pages of digitized newspaper content have been produced.  Sixteen papers have been included in the project with publication dates ranging from 1769 to 1991.

 Prior to today it would have been necessary to travel to the institutions where these newspapers are housed in order to view them.  Now they are just a mouse click away!  Enjoy!

Routes to Your Roots

Routes to Your RootsThe Routes to Your Roots website has launched!

 This project is a partnership between the Council of Nova Scotia Archives and the Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture & Heritage.  The site is designed for people interested in exploring Nova Scotia in search of their family history.  By simply entering a surname, visitors can easily find potential archives, museums, libraries and historical societies holding information about their family.  This research information is paired with accommodations, attractions, festivals and events so they can easily plan their entire trip from one website.

The Chestico Museum is proud to have participated in this project.  We invite you to visit this new site.  Routes to your own roots may await!