Saturday, 1 July, Canada Day — Margaree Forks to Port Hood¹

Je souhaite à tous mes amis et parents canadiens une joyeuse fête du Canada! Canada 150!

I wish all my Canadian friends and family a happy Canada Day. Canada 150!²

I wish I had the knowledge to express the same wishes and congratulations in Gaelic too, but this clip from the Gaelic College by way of Shelly Campbell will serve instead.

A day I have been eagerly awaiting all year has finally arrived: the start of KitchenFest! This is currently a seven-day festival of music and food, themed as kitchen parties, and, like Celtic Colours, held at venues all over the island, most offering food as well as music. It has none of the showiness of Celtic Colours spectacles, so often contaminated with foreign elements, but provides the authentic, traditional music of Cape Breton “pure drop” in intimate settings where one gets to enjoy magical moments every day of the festival. As well as presenting nearly all the recognized and established masters of the Cape Breton tradition currently in their prime, one also gets to hear many of the extremely talented younger players whose superb playing is bringing them well-justified renown and respect: the future of traditional Cape Breton music is in most competent hands! If you can pick only one time to visit Cape Breton and you love its traditional music, KitchenFest! is definitely the time to come!

KitchenFest! has three problems. The first is that there is so much excellent music on offer each day and night, one can’t possibly be in all the places one wants to be; I constantly gnash my teeth at having to make hard and impossible choices. This is, obviously, a good problem for KitchenFest! to have, even though it’s a painful one for me! The second problem is that the schedule is not out early enough; in this regard, Celtic Colours is the model to emulate, coming out a good three months in advance; with tourism increasing apace on the island, one needs the information that far in advance in order to make reservations. This problem should be solvable. The third problem stems from the festival’s choice of smallish venues, which is absolutely essential to creating the intimacy of a kitchen party: since tickets are not sold in advance (except for those events held at the Gaelic College, which are available online and at the Gaelic College gift shop), one can’t be sure of getting a seat or even just getting in unless one arrives an hour or two in advance, and even then there is no guarantee; the long lines at the Red Shoe, for example, are legendary. Ticketing would definitely help, but doesn’t seem to be practical for restaurants or pubs, whose clientele includes folks other than those attending the KitchenFest! events. It seems to be an intractable problem with no good solution. Other than that, the festival is perfect!

On this grey, mild (+18 (64)), overcast morning, which was not threatening rain, I got up at 9h and dealt with some e-mail. I drove to Belle-Côte and had breakfast at the Belle View: orange juice, a tasty homemade fruit salad, two eggs, bacon, toast, home fries, and tea. I stopped at the Terre-Noire look-off and drafted all of Monday’s account, though I did not have time to edit it. As I was working, some blue sky began opening up; to the north, mountains of fog lay out in the Gulf and, to the south, it was hazy, though both Sight Point and Margaree Island were visible. When I left, some filtered sun was out and the temperature hadn’t changed.

When I arrived at the Doryman about 12h30, the sun was out for fair. I was under the mistaken impression that the usual schedule, with the music starting at 14h would apply, but today was an exception, as it started at 15h. (I need to pay closer attention to the printed schedule!) Even two and a half hours early, I didn’t get my usual seat up front, but was saved when a lady from Chéticamp who recognized me, invited me to sit with her and three of her friends at the next table back from the front. By 14h, the Doryman, probably the largest of the KitchenFest! venues, was already very full, an hour in advance of the start of the music. I chatted with the ladies at my table; with other friends as they passed by; edited and posted Monday’s account; and worked on my Celtic Colours schedule, picking out the shows I want to attend this fall.

Five minutes before the official start time, when the pub was full up and then some, Rodney MacDonald offered a few words of Gaelic and the official opening KitchenFest! welcome. With Rodney and Glenn Graham on dual fiddles, Joël Chiasson on keyboard, and Patrick Gillis on guitar, they gave us an afternoon chock-a-block with the finest of traditional music. Great tunes, powerfully played with drive and verve, with fantastic accompaniments, the very essence of KitchenFest! Full of those magical moments I treasure, like Pat’s brilliant guitar (you can always hear him but he doesn’t stand out or detract; sometimes melodic, sometimes rhythmic, sometimes harmonizing chords, but always spot on for what the music calls for—and the music is the poorer for it when he’s not playing) and Joël’s amazing piano (among many other beautiful flourishes this day, I was especially struck by a nice bell peal on the keyboard at start of each half turn during a strathspey), I was transported to my happy place. The first set of jigs drew four couples out for a square set, growing to five in its third figure. Extra chairs were brought out to seat some of the standees now lining the walls. A waltz drew one couple. Hilary Romard, today without his dance group, danced every square set and step danced multiple times when the appropriate music was being played; his fine steps are always fascinating to watch. Five couples, including some superb dancers, transformed the next set of jigs into the second square set. I ordered a bowl of the Doryman’s superb chowder and their excellent house salad as Faded Love next drew five couples out to waltz. A dandy march/strathspey/reel set brought: a barefoot lady with great wind who step danced beautifully; a gentleman with flailing arms but fine steps; and Philippe Poirier, most appropriately coiffed in a red and white high hat celebrating Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation, concluded with his steps.

¹ Posted on Sunday, 9 July, for Saturday, 1 July, Canada Day.↩

² For my American friends unversed in Canadian history: “Canadian Confederation (French: Confédération canadienne) was the process by which the British colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick were united into one Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867. Upon confederation, the old province of Canada was divided into Ontario and Quebec; along with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the new federation thus comprised four provinces. Over the years since Confederation, Canada has seen numerous territorial changes and expansions, resulting in the current union of ten provinces and three territories.” [Wikipedia article, accessed 2018 April 16]. 2017 July 1 is therefore the 150th anniversary of Confederation, the founding of the nation of Canada. Hence, Canada 150!↩

After a break, the music resumed with Gerry Deveau on spoons replacing Pat on guitar for a set; during this set, Hilary and two ladies from Chéticamp step danced and we even got some steps from Joël after Mary Graham went up and took his place at the keyboard for the rest of that set. After Gerry left the stage (he had continued spooning a cappella after the other musicians stopped playing), Joël and Pat returned for a set of jigs, which became the third square set with four couples. Strathspeys brought two other gentlemen whose names I don’t know out to step dance. The following set of jigs turned into the fourth square set, starting with six couples in its first figure and adding three more for its second and third figures. One final great blast o’ tunes brought three step dancers out to share their steps. The four musicians got a well-deserved standing ovation at the end of my first KitchenFest! cèilidh this year. Wow! What an afternoon of music!

I stopped at the Belle View for dinner on the way back, where I had bacon-wrapped scallops and the salt cod dinner (baked cod, onions, “crunchies”, chow, baked potato, turnip), both delicious. It was sprinkling in Glenora Falls, which turned into light rain further south.

After getting my motel room key in Port Hood, I drove back to West Mabou Hall—Asylum Bridge is open again and the detour signs at West Mabou and Hunters Road on Highway 19 are now gone. When I arrived, I found the hall nicely decorated for Canada Day with flags and red and white balloons; sound checking was in full progress.

My first KitchenFest! dance this year had music by Rodney MacDonald and Richard Wood on fiddles, Allan Dewar on real piano, and Kenny Stewart (substituting for Sandy MacDonald) on guitar. I had a nice chat with Richard after the sound check was done. With Rodney on fiddle, the first set of jigs drew no takers but the second, at 21h09, became the first square set, starting with four couples growing to five by the end of the first figure, to six for the second figure, and to seven for the third. Richard’s jigs drew eight couples out for the first figure of the second square set, which grew to fourteen by the third figure. By now, the hall had gotten much fuller and there were too many couples outside my line of sight to count accurately during the the first and second figures. Rodney played the third square set, which had nineteen couples in its third figure. The fourth square set, with Richard on fiddle, used two queues and was danced by thirty-two couples (or more—it’s always tricky counting when the nearer queue blocks my view of the further queue). Rodney then played a waltz danced by at least eight couples and likely more. He continued playing for the step dancers: Cheryl MacQuarrie; a lady I don’t know; a quite young lady whose name I don’t know; Iain MacQuarrie; Stephen MacLennan; Lewis MacLennan; Kelly MacLennan (I think); Mikayle MacLennan (I think); Joan Currie; and Amanda MacDonald (corrections or additional names welcome). Rodney continued playing for the fifth square set, again danced using two queues by at least forty couples. Richard played for the sixth and last square set, danced by from twenty-eight to thirty couples in a single queue (and even then I kept getting different counts). Dances are, of course, where one hears the music as it was meant to be played: for dancers. Rodney’s and Richard’s playing styles are each noticeably very different and I greatly enjoyed both of them; the accompaniments were superb regardless of which fiddler was playing. The first of my KitchenFest! dances was a fabulous success, with the floor full to overflowing as for a dance in high summer, and my first day of KitchenFest! was off to a fantastic start! After thanking the musicians for their great music and chatting with friends, I drove back to Port Hood and was in bed before 1h.