St. Ann's Cape Breton - From Kitchens to Ceilidhs and Square Dances, the Cape Breton fiddle has taken center stage around the world. Nowhere is it appreciated more than at home. When fiddlers get together, they share stories and tunes and such has been the case since the first Cape Breton Fiddle Festival in 1973. Once again this August, the 34th Festival, organized by the Cape Breton Fiddlersí Association, will gather at its adopted home, the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts in St. Ann's.

The Fiddle festival will include a series of workshops and concerts on both days. Workshops to be announced shortly.

Full concession facilities will be available throughout the weekend with plenty of free parking. For further information, contact:

Cape Breton Fiddlersí Association at 902-849-8476;
the Gaelic College at 902-295-3411; or
the Department of Tourism at 1-800-565-0000.

The Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo is going to have a wonderful act added to it this year! The Cape Breton Fiddlersí Association has been invited to participate in this exciting event from June 30th (preview) to July 8, at the Halifax Metro Centre. There are sixteen members of the Association heading for Halifax on June 24th to start rehearsals, and they will be performing with thousands of other participants from all over the world.

The Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo will feature 1,500 to 2,000 performers from Canada, England, Estonia, Germany, Scotland, Switzerland, Wales, and Oman. This entertainment extravaganza is expected to draw an estimated 60,000 people to Halifax during its performance run.

Traditional Cape Breton fiddle music will be performed and appreciated by thousands of people from June 30 to July 8. This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase our unique kind of music to the rest of the world on a large scale. Members of the Association have been practicing diligently since a few months for this performance, and they will be ready to woo the general public! ìThis is such an exciting time for the Cape Breton Fiddlersí Association because we have three wonderful venues available this summer to showcase our traditional Cape Breton fiddle music to the world at large. We are performing at the Royal International Nova Scotia Tattoo in early July; we are taking our music to Victoria, British Columbia, in the middle of July; and we are presenting our annual Festival of Cape Breton Fiddling 2006 at the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts on August 19 and August 20,î says one of the main organizers, Betty Matheson.
For more information about any of these events, contact 902-849-8476

Bottom L-R: Emma Ferguson/Mckayla MacNeil/Janelle Bordreau
Kourtney Merrervey/Alicia MacLeod
Standing L-R: Joe MacNeil/Kayla Bona/Kate MacCuspic/Rachel Davis
Allison Mombourquette/Marcellin Chiasson
Missing: Leanne Aucoin/Clare Baxter/Megan Burke/Kolten MacDonell/Joy Thibeau

Twenty-one members from the Youth Division of the Cape Breton Fiddlersí Association will be hosting twenty-one members from the Victoria Fiddle Society in British Columbia from August 14 until August 22 as part of their involvement in YMCA Youth Exchanges Canada, a program of the YMCA of Greater Toronto.YMCA Youth Exchanges Canada promotes cross-cultural awareness and a sense of belonging among Canadian youth aged 12 to 18. Travel costs are funded by the Government of Canada through Exchanges Canada.

The young musicians from the Cape Breton Fiddlersí Association and the Victoria Fiddle Society will be gaining a wealth of experience and wonderful exposure to so many things that they have never been part of before. While in Cape Breton, the Victoria contingent will take part in the Festival of Cape Breton Fiddling 2006 at the Gaelic College, will visit many historical sights in Cape Breton, and will take part in square dances, ceilidhs, barbecues, etc. etc. The Youth Division of the Cape Breton Fiddlersí Association is busily preparing for this event by practicing their tunes, getting in contact with their ìtwinî from British Columbia, and fundraising!

YMCA Youth Exchanges Canada sponsors exchanges between the two groups of equal size in different communities. Each group hosts the other. During their stay in Cape Breton, the youth will live with the families of their twin group.
Since 1976, thousands of young people have experienced the cultural and geographic diversity of Canada through participation in YMCA Youth Exchanges.

Bottom L-R: Kayla MacDonald/Alysha McIntyre
Middle L-R: Krista MacKinnon/Rebecca Orr/Douglas Cameron/
Talia Levangie/Alicia MacLeod
Top L-R: Katie MacLeod/Noella Chiasson/Kayla Bona/Rachael Ryan/
Rachel Davis/Allison Mombourquette/Sarah Musgrave
Missing: Alysha Jessome/Jennifer MacDonald/Kolten MacDonell/ Neil MacInnis/
Stuart MacInnis/Shawn MacKinnon/Brandi McCarthy