CeltFest 2008 Vancouver Island
- A Dream Come True!
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CELTFEST 2007 STUDENT PIPERS, members of the White Spot Pipe Band from Vancouver open the show to the delight of a sold-out audience at last year's Sunset and Stars Gala in Nanaimo. |
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DAVID WILTON, reigning World Adult Highland Dance Champion, soars high above a sold-out crowd at the Nanaimo Port Theatre at the CeltFest 2007 Sunset and Stars gala. In the background is Mairi Rankin on fiddle and Mac Morin on piano. |
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SCANTILY PLAID features celebrated Celtic harpist and Gaelic singer Ruth Sutherland and champion piper Bob Worrall. |
NANAIMO - They grew up on opposite sides of Canada and it wasn't until they met and were eventually married that CeltFest organizers René and Carolyn Cusson discovered that they shared a common dream.
It was to recreate the wonderful learning experiences they had as young people at Highland music and dance camps.
In 2000 Carolyn and René began organizing a small piping and dancing camp at Shawnigan Lake on Vancouver Island. In a matter of weeks word got out to Irish and other music groups and the concept of a comprehensive Celtic performing arts program was born.
The resulting growth of the event is something they never thought possible. Now in its eighth year, CeltFest Vancouver Island, is an international Celtic music and dance summer school and concert series. It hosts over 300 participants annually from 16 countries, and audiences for the performance events now average over 2,000.
Having outgrown its previous venue, the CeltFest 2008 Vancouver Island Summer School will be headquartered at Malaspina University-College in Nanaimo, B.C., from July 6-11.
The school offers top quality instruction in piping, drumming, fiddling, harp, various Celtic music and song courses, Highland dancing, Irish dancing and visual arts.
Carolyn and René are thrilled that the world-class faculty members joining CeltFest 2008 will bring extraordinary talent and a truly international flavour to the 2008 school.
They include: Cape Breton Nova Scotia natives, Mac Morin, Mairi Rankin and Wendy MacIsaac; Toronto's champion piper Bob Worrall, his group Scantily Plaid, who include the celebrated Celtic harpist and Gaelic singer, Ruth Sutherland, and many others.
This is an especially banner year for Highland dance, featuring Scotland's David Wilton who is the reigning Highland Dancing World Champion, his coach/mother Delma Wilson, and also Judy Clark from New Zealand and her three-time world champion student, Morgan Banfield.
CeltFest 2008 Vancouver Island performance and community events have expanded to include the Celtworld Dance! Music Spectacular at the Royal Theatre in Victoria on July 5, during the ScotDance Championships for Highland Dance, the Raise the Roof! Concert Ceilidh and Fundraiser at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre on July 10 and the grand finale, the Sunset & Stars Gala on July 12 at the Port Theatre in Nanaimo. Evening student-lead Ceilidhs and a fun Wacky Jig & Hornpipe competition, open to the public, are also on tap for the week of the summer school.
Carolyn and René are seeing their dreams come true in providing a comprehensive educational and entertainment event that is distinctive and unparalleled in very few places in the world.
They are committed to offering a choice of affordable events that are open to members of the community in order to instill a love of Celtic Performing Arts.
Carolyn says, "CeltFest provides a unique opportunity for us to share traditions in which entire families, individuals and groups from diverse backgrounds come together to learn and enjoy an age-old art form." And as far as she is concerned you just can't get a better dream than that.
A limited number of CeltFest tuition scholarships and bursaries are available. To apply, e-mail: info@celticperformingarts.com with details about yourself and what attending CeltFest 2008 means to you.
For more information about CeltFest 2008 Vancouver Island Summer School, visit www.celtfest.ca , or call 1-866-301-2358.
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