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March 17, 2007
Judique ceilidh is where
to be on Sunday afternoon
Article & photos by Frank Macdonald,
Inverness Oran
Each
Sunday afternoon from 3-7 p.m. the Celtic Music Interpretive
Centre in Judique hosts a ceilidh that has become a main
attraction for music fans from across the island and across
the Causeway. On Sunday afternoon, the ceilidh featured
Glenn Graham and Friends, and the newly constructed centre,
which is going through its first winter of operation, was
standing room only as the fiddler, accompanied by Robbie
Fraser on piano, poured out the tunes.
Kinnon
Beaton, director of the Interpretive Centre, says that most
Sunday afternoon through this winter have been similar to
this one.
"People
come from Baddeck, St. Peter’s, the Margarees, as well as
lots of local people who come every week," he said.
The
setting for the Sunday Ceilidhs is intimate in that the
building was designed to contain a small performance space
with tables and chairs capable of seating approximately 80
people. But there is also room to stand and watch, and by
easing one’s self into the foyer, where there is still a
fine view of the stage, a person can engage in visits with
other music fans.
"We
schedule one fiddler and piano player," Beaton explains,
"but there is usually a half dozen fiddlers and piano
players in the audience and they often take part."
On the stage, a series of step dancers of all ages take
turns spontaneously stepping to the music for a few minutes
before returning to their tables to turn the stage over to
the next person moved enough by the music to express his or
delight with their feet.
On the stage is a piano, a stove, and chairs, evoking a
kitchen setting, the original setting for Cape Breton
ceilidhs.
Along the
walls of the performance space there is a kitchen serving
burgers and fries, a bar serving drinks, and a gift shop,
stocked with recordings and books and souvenirs.
Behind the musicians is a small sound studio. Not yet
operations, Kinnon Beaton envisions a time when it will be
able to record some of the music that fills the stage on
Sundays or at other special music events. Sales from live
recordings can play a role in sustaining the interpretive
centre.
For
visitors, the centre offers considerably more than the
ceilidhs. This new building is home to extensive and
ever-expanding music archives. Currently the studio has two
students hired to record the reels and tapes to a digital
format, preserving the music of past generations for future
generations. The archives are open to visitors throughout
the week (the centre is open 9-5 Monday to Friday), and
while they are closed on Sundays, visits can be arranged.
Meanwhile,
out front, Graham and Fraser take a break, but the music
itself barely breaks because Shelly Campbell and Jackie
Dunn-MacIsaac have taken to the stage, beginning a new round
of tunes for people to listen to.
The
Judique Ceilidhs in the Celtic Music Interpretive Centre
will continue all through the Spring, but Kinnon Beaton
couldn’t predict what the centre will be offering through
the summer months, not wanting to conflict with some of the
other traditional Sunday shows in Inverness County. So any
Sunday this Spring, if you feel a need for an infusion of
fine Cape Breton fiddling, Judique’s a fine place to be.
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