The Celtic Colours International Festival returns to Cape Breton this October

The Celtic Colours International Festival will return to Cape Breton, N.S., for nine days from Oct. 11 to 19, with hundreds of events and performances scheduled to take place in communities around the island.

Leanne Birmingham-Beddow is the CEO of the festival. In an interview with CTV News, she said this will be a great year to attend the annual celebration of Cape Breton culture.

“We’re going into our 28th year,” Birmingham-Beddow said. “We have such great local artists playing as well as visiting artists from around the world.”

Birmingham-Beddow said recent years have been difficult for the festival, which was forced to take a break during the pandemic before dealing with a hurricane during its first year back.

“This year I think everything’s in place and the colours are going to be great too,” Birmingham-Beddow said. “Cape Breton Island is always a wonderful backdrop for all of the wonderful music and cultural experiences.”

Birmingham-Beddow said the festival conducted an audience and visitor survey last year with the help of Cape Breton University’s World Tourism Institute. It indicates the Celtic Colours Festival has an enormous impact on the Cape Breton tourism industry.

“It’s pretty amazing,” Birmingham-Beddow said. “Last year for instance, we got about 66 per cent of our attendees were from off-island.” She said the data they collected showed $16 million in direct audience spending for 2023.

“The tourism industry really depends on it. It’s extended the season into October.”

Birmingham-Beddow said festival data indicates that people who attend the festival enjoy it enough to come back, with 35 to 40 per cent of attendees returning five times or more.

“When they come, they love it and they keep coming.”

The 2024 Celtic Colours International Festival is looking for volunteers, and there are still tickets left. Those interested in attending or volunteering should visit the festival website.

“There’s 50 concerts and we’ve got a tremendous number of wonderful musicians,” Birmingham-Beddow said, adding that the festival finale includes two acts that everyone should see: Grammy-Award winner Carlos Núñez and Julie Fowlis who sang as a Disney Princess in the 2012 film, “Brave.” If that isn’t reason enough to come to Cape Breton, Birmingham-Beddow said the colours will be vibrant this fall.

“It’s going to be gorgeous. I’m already seeing a little bit of colour coming out for sure.”

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