Each year, the Cape Breton Fiddlers’ Association, presents a two-day festival of Cape Breton Fiddling, now held at the Gaelic College in St Anns. This festival is the present day successor of the first Festival of Cape Breton Fiddling, held in 1973 in Glendale. Quoting from the Association’s history web page:

In February, 1972, a CBC documentary entitled The Vanishing Cape Breton Fiddler was produced by Ron MacInnis. The premise of this film was [that] the traditional Cape Breton violin music was in a state of decline, and that it would soon disappear entirely! Reaction to this documentary was swift and disbelieving. The most notable achievement of the film was that it shook Cape Bretoners out of their complacency, and it made them aware [that], quite possibly, the Cape Breton Fiddle was facing extinction.

Father John Angus Rankin was one of the key people who vowed that this would never happen! A group composed of Frank MacInnis, Father Eugene Morris, Burton MacIntyre, Archie Neil Chisholm, Father John Angus Rankin, Rod Chisholm, Judge Hugh J. MacPherson, Anne Marie MacDonald, Jeannette Beaton, Joey Beaton, and Ray MacDonald met as a result of a letter sent out by Frank MacInnis. This group discussed the possibility of forming some kind of a fiddlers’ festival. This dedicated group of people decided to proceed with the concept; thus, the very seed of the Cape Breton Fiddlers’ Association began. Because of the efforts of this determined group, the first Festival of Cape Breton Fiddling was held in Glendale in July 1973. Over one hundred and thirty proud Cape Breton fiddlers arrived in Glendale that weekend and gave one of the greatest concerts ever witnessed in Cape Breton. Several thousand people made up the audience.

Preparation for the successful 1973 festival gave birth to the Cape Breton Fiddlers’ Association, and its work continues today. The Association’s main mandate has been to preserve and promote traditional Cape Breton fiddle music. Since its inception, it has provided workshops and opportunities for its members to learn new tunes and techniques, it has published tunes written by its members, and it has provided venues for musicians to perform for thousands of people. It has nurtured and supported its members to excel; as a result, many of our wonderful members are now performing worldwide. Our membership has increased to include both local, national, and international members. We have been included in several publications, and we have some wonderful recordings to our credit. Cape Breton fiddle music is alive and flourishing both on the Island and throughout the world; and the Cape Breton Fiddlers’ Association is proud to have played a significant role in this resurgence.

Since this was the 45th anniversary of the original Glendale concert, a large number of fiddlers from Glengarry County in Ontario, including the MacLeod Fiddlers, made the long trip to Cape Breton to help celebrate this milestone; while not usually as numerous as this year’s contingent, fiddlers from Glengarry have been present at and performed in every Cape Breton Fiddlers’ Association concert from the original Glendale concert onwards and their long-standing support is greatly appreciated. Special events held in their honour during the week preceding the concert included a reception on Thursday at the Whycocomagh Waterfront Centre, a trip to the Glencoe dance later that night, and another reception on Friday at the Auld Farm Inn in Baddeck Bay.

Now held on the week-end containing the third Saturday in August at the Colaisde na Gàidhlig / The Gaelic College in St Anns, in 2018, the 45th edition of the Festival of Cape Breton Fiddling took place August 18-19. The schedule for 2018 was as follows:

• On Saturday, workshops in fiddle, piano, and step-dance were conducted by some of the Association’s finest performers and instructors: Stan Chapman, Stephanie MacDonald, Kolten Macdonell, Susan MacLean, and Kyle MacNeil.
• A tune-sharing session was held.
• A concert from 19h-21h was followed by a square dance.
• On Sunday from 14h-19h, the Gala Concert, the highlight of the festival, took place on the outdoor stage on the grounds of the Gaelic College; it featured a rich line-up of local, national, and international fiddlers, piano players, bagpipers, singers, step-dancers, and highland dancers.

Like so many on Cape Breton, this Festival could not have been mounted without the commitment and perseverance of the many volunteers, whose support is crucial to this Festival’s continued success. To the Association’s directors, stage managers, emcees, canteen crew, chaperones, those staffing the ticket tables, maintaining the membership lists, selling merchandise to raise funds for the Association, ferrying youth players to and from practice sessions and concerts, preparing instructional materials, and carrying out the many other functions all year long that are necessary to make this Festival and the Association the success it is year after year—to all of them we owe a huge vote of thanks and appreciation for their time, work, and dedication. Cape Breton’s fiddle music would not be the same without them!

Sunday afternoon was bright and sunny, mild at +20 (68), with some fluffy white clouds and a nice breeze, a perfect day for an outdoor concert on the Gaelic College’s stage in its natural outdoor amphitheatre overlooking St Anns Harbour.

The canteen, in addition to the usual cold drinks, tea, and coffee, featured hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages, and home-cut fries; ice cream and fresh stawberry shortcake were available for dessert. CD’s, DVD’s, books, tee-shirts, and similar materials were also on sale during the concerts. Staffed by volunteers, the proceeds from all of these activities help support the work of the Association.

The thrilling sound of massed fiddles is reason enough to hold this Festival. But it is also important as it provides opportunities to many of the members to demonstrate their skills as fiddlers and pianists and dancers. Moreover, the Festival provides a gauge of the health of the music, featuring, as it does, the upcoming youth players and many of Cape Breton’s best players. This Gala Concert again revealed that the music is in very fine shape, though the number of very young players in attendance was smaller than one would like: the youth of a few years ago have now taken their rightful rôle as sought-after, experienced performers of the music.

The Gala Concert concluded the 45th Anniversary celebrations at the Festival. Emceed jointly by Wendy Bergfeldt, hostess of CBC Radio’s Mainstreet Cape Breton, and by Bob MacEachern, owner and manager of 101.5 The Hawk in Port Hawkesbury, the Gala Concert began shortly after 14h on the stage of the Gaelic College’s natural amphitheatre (seen below before the concert began). I had an excellent spot in the front row of the seating in front of the stage; in addition, Burton MacIntyre gave me permission to photograph from the area above the stage, which I did during the group numbers—this allowed me to get photos of those that were hidden by those standing in front.

I am not a professional photographer, so take the photos for what they are: my best attempt to capture what was going on at a live event. Inevitably, microphones get in the road and the angle from which I was shooting means that some may be obscured by others. With those caveats, I hope you will nevertheless enjoy the photos presented here.

The Performance Listing reflects the names I heard and wrote down at the concert, but given my lack of acute hearing, what I present here may well not be what was said. I apologize in advance to those whose names I mis-heard or misspelt. Corrections are most welcome: use the contact link in the navigation bar at the bottom to notify me of any errors. I am indedebted to Kelly MacArthur for the names of the dancers from the Kelly MacArthur School of Dance and of the dances they performed; I am likewise indebted and to Don and Ann MacPhee of Glengarry for the names of the MacLeod Fiddlers, the name of one of the Glengarry Fiddlers I did not know, and spelling corrections for a couple of names.

To begin looking at the photos, click on any thumbnail in the “Photos” column of the Performance Listing table immediately below to jump directly to the full-sized photo on the page that holds it. Alternatively, click on the “First” link in the navigation bar at the top of this page to be taken to the first photo page and continue through them in sequence by clicking on the “Next” link on each subsequent page until you reach the last page (from which it will be missing). (The “Previous” link, which appears on pages after the first, will take you to the previous page in the sequence. The “First” and “Last” links take you to the first and last pages of the sequence, respectively.) As a convenience, the “First”, “Next”, “Previous”, and “Last” links are also repeated at the bottom of each photo page.

Id	Performance	Photos
1	Wendy Bergfeldt and Bob MacEachern open the Gala Concert
2	Cape Breton Fiddlers’ Association First Group Number
3	Dawn MacDonald‑Gillis step dancing to the music of Kinnon Beaton on fiddle and Betty Lou Beaton on keyboard
4	Donny LeBlanc on fiddle accompanied by Lawrence Cameron on keyboard
5	Lawrence Cameron playing a solo on keyboard
6	Ian MacLeod on fiddle accompanied by Kolten Macdonell on keyboard
7	Helen MacDonald‑MacKenzie step dancing to the music of Kinnon Beaton on fiddle and Betty Lou Beaton on keyboard
8	Dara Smith-MacDonald on fiddle accompanied by Kolten Macdonell on keyboard
9	Mckayla MacNeil on fiddle accompanied by Betty Lou Beaton on keyboard
10	Cape Breton Fiddlers’ Association Second Group Number
11	Official Opening Ceremonies
12	Cape Breton Fiddlers’ Association Tribute to Deceased Members
13	Ian Cameron on bellows pipes accompanied by Cathy Hawley on keyboard
14	Kyle Gillis on fiddle accompanied by Dawn MacDonald-Gillis on keyboard
15	Iain MacQuarrie on fiddle accompanied by Howie MacDonald on keyboard
16	Anne MacQuarrie on fiddle accompanied by Iain MacQuarrie on keyboard
17	Fred McCracken singing Galway Bay, accompanied by Janet Cameron on keyboard
18	The MacLeod Fiddlers
19	Curtis and Ashley Flipsen step dance to the music of the MacLeod Fiddlers
20	The Glengarry Fiddlers
21	A contingent of the PEI Fiddlers accompanied by Kolten Macdonell on keyboard
22	Carol Ann MacDougall playing a solo on keyboard
23	Noel Campbell on cello, accompanied by Gabrielle Campbell on keyboard
24	Rachel Campbell on fiddle accompanied by Noel Campbell on cello and Gabrielle Campbell on keyboard
25	Tribute to Gordon MacQuarrie played by Stephanie MacDonald on fiddle accompanied by Susan MacLean on keyboard
26	Tribute to Dan R MacDonald played by Kinnon Beaton on fiddle accompanied by Betty Lou Beaton on keyboard
27	Tribute to Dan Hughie MacEachern played by Mckayla MacNeil on fiddle accompanied by Kolten Macdonell on keyboard
28	Joe MacMaster on fiddle accompanied by Kolten Macdonell on keyboard
29	Brandi McCarthy step dancing to the music of Joe MacMaster on fiddle and Kolten Macdonell on keyboard
30	Emma MacNeil, Amelie Bates, and Mia Nordine dancing a Highland Fling to the music of Dara Smith-MacDonald on fiddle and Betty Lou Beaton on keyboard
31	Kinnon Beaton on fiddle accompanied by Betty Lou Beaton on keyboard and Terry McNamara on guitar
32	David Greenberg on fiddle accompanied by Doug MacPhee on keyboard
33	Heather Flipsen on fiddle accompanied by Ian MacLeod on keyboard
34	Cape Breton Fiddlers’ Association Third Group Number
35	Marcellin Chiasson on mandolin and Denis Larade on guitar
36	Amelie Bates, Mia Nordine, and Emma MacNeil dancing the Seann Triubhas to recorded music
37	Bernard McDonell on fiddle accompanied by Susan MacLean on keyboard
38	Roger Treat on fiddle accompanied by Betty Lou Beaton on keyboard
39	JP MacNeil singing The Water is Wide to his own guitar accompaniment
40	Shawnee Paul on fiddle accompanied by Kyle Kennedy MacDonald on keyboard
41	Edmund Hayden on fiddle accompanied by Kyle Kennedy MacDonald on keyboard
42	The Glengarry Fiddlers accompanied by Kolten Macdonell on keyboard
43	Brenda Stubbert on fiddle accompanied by Kolten Macdonell on keyboard
44	Cape Breton Fiddlers’ Association Fourth Group Number