Highland Village to Celebrate 200 Years of Gaelic Settlement

N.S. MUSEUM--Highland Village to Celebrate 200 Years of Gaelic Settlement

Highland Village Museum/An Clachan Gaidhealach in Iona, a part of the Nova Scotia Museum, is taking part in a community-wide celebration marking the 200th anniversary of the first Scottish settlement of central Cape Breton.

Féill Nam Barrach, or Barraman's Feast, takes place from July 28 to Aug. 4. The festival will bring together communities and organizations throughout the area to celebrate the cultural legacy of the early Gaelic-speaking settlers who originated in the outer Hebridean island of Barra.

A concert-on-the-hill kicks off the Barraman's Feast on Sunday, July 28 at 2 p.m., and will feature the Barra MacNeils, the Cottars and Mi'kmaq singer Pauline Isadore.

On Monday, July 29, Highland Village Museum will host afternoon workshops in Gaelic language, genealogy and weaving. At 7 p.m. there will be a special candlelight tour of the museum with Jim St. Clair. At 9 p.m., Shelley Campbell and Friends will provide the music for a square dance under the stars.

The festival will return to Highland Village Museum on Wednesday, July 31, with more workshops, including genealogy and a special program on Gaelic song and storytelling. An evening candlelight tour of the museum will take place at 7 p.m.

A new book on bagpiping traditions in Nova Scotia and Scotland by John Gibson will be launched during a special program broadcast live on CBC Cape Breton's Mainstreet from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 1.

From Monday to Friday, Highland Village Museum will continue to offer its popular Living History Program for children. The program begins at 10 a.m. each day.

The 41st annual Highland Village Day concert and dance will take place on Saturday, Aug. 3. The Scottish concert will get under way at 2 p.m. and will feature some of the finest Gaelic singers, fiddlers, pipers and dancers from Cape Breton Island. The concert will be hosted by Joe Murphy and Ray MacDonald. Afterward, an adult square dance will be held at the Iona Legion with music by Kyle and Sheumas MacNeil.

The Highland Village Museum/An Clachan Gaidhealach is a living history museum in Iona that celebrates, interprets and promotes Nova Scotia's rich Gaelic language and culture. Featuring costumed staff in period buildings overlooking the spectacular Bras d'Or Lakes, the museum allows visitors to experience Gaelic life in rural Nova Scotia from the late 1700s to the early 1900s. The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. until Oct. 20.

For more information on the Barraman's Feast or Highland Village Museum call 902-725-2272. The full schedule of events for the Barraman's Feast can be found on the Internet at www.centralcapebreton.com.