The 19th annual Celtic Colours International Festival is in full swing in Cape Breton, celebrating a culture that spans two continents.
“There’s great artists from all sides of this Celtic spectrum,” says musician Ben Miller. “There’s people from Cape Breton, there’s people from Scotland, and it’s great to hear these two sounds of music back together.”
Set against the backdrop of the season’s fall colours, the festival boasts nine days and nights of music and culture with more than 100 artists playing venues across the island.
“It’s the most beautiful time of year, to me, on Cape Breton Island,” says musician Buddy MacDonald.
“We have such a wonderful island to promote here and we have a wonderful culture to promote and it’s nice for people all over the world to come and enjoy.”
With people travelling from across Canada for the festival, Cape Breton-born musician Anita MacDonald says Celtic Colours is as much about the people as it is about the performances.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to come back and hang out with family and friends and it’s a great way for us to mingle with musicians we’ve known our whole lives,” says MacDonald. “It’s a homecoming, for sure.”
Organizers say the festive, yet laidback, atmosphere keeps people coming back.
“They know they’re going to get wonderful hospitality. They’re well looked after when they come here,” says artistic director Dawn Beaton. “And locals alike, they enjoy extending that hospitality.”
While the fiddling and foliage is planned, Miller says it’s the spontaneity of a good old-fashioned Cape Breton kitchen party that really makes Celtic Colours special.
“You just never know what’s going to happen, and sometimes it just goes into the wee hours of the morning,” he says.
“People are here to have a good time and they’re not afraid to show it,” agrees Beaton.
Celtic Colours wraps up on Saturday.
