Upcoming Events
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Camping Cèilidh 2024
Do you play, sing, or just enjoy Irish, Scottish, or Cape Breton traditional music and camping? Pitch your tent at Deception Pass State Park for a casual weekend of tunes, songs, food, drink, and fun in the woods by the beach.
Your Hosts
Seumas Gagne, Christine Traxler, Christian Hoffman, Suzanne Taylor, and Alicia Guinn, longtime colaborators in Irish and Scottish music and dance, are looking forward to welcoming friends old and new to Camping Cèilidh! The group brings a wealth of knowledge of Irish dance tunes, Scottish Gaelic songs, traditional Irish and Scottish songs in English, and Irish social and sean-nós dance that guarantees a well rounded celebration!
Group Camp Site
We have booked the group camp site at Deception Pass State Park which can host around 40 people. It is on the eastern shore of Cranberry lake, so a little further removed from the ocean, but also far removed from the rest of the camp sites. Read more about Deception Pass and the group camp site.
Gentle Organization
Camping Cèilidh includes a little bit of gentle organization. Times and places will be set aside for specific sessions to be sure that tune players get to play lots of tunes and singers get to sing lots of songs.
We will also be joining all together for a cèilidh each evening at which everyone is welcome to share.
Alicia Guinn will be facilitating Irish social dance sessions, so remember to pack a pair of leather-soled shoes! Learn more about Alicia here: aliciaguinn.com
Immersive game-play Scottish Gaelic language sessions will also be presented.
There will be a potluck on Friday evening that you can participate in if you like.
A full schedule of events and additional details will be sent to registrants in advance.
Books
The Camping Cèilidh team has so-far produced two books for participants: The Book of Common Tunes and Leabhar nan Òran Cumanta. The first is a collection of mostly Irish dance tunes selected by Suzanne from The Session website at thesession.org. The latter is a collection of leadsheets with melody, suggested chords, and lyrics for 16 well-known songs in Scottish Gaelic compiled and edited by Seumas.
PDF editions of both will be emailed to all registered participants prior to the event. Along with your registration, you can also purchase a printed copy which will be available for you to pick up at the event.
Registration
Registration is available to those 18 years or older. Registered parents and guardians can bring their kids with them for an additional charge.
Arrival day will be Thursday, August 22nd and departure day will be Sunday, August 25th. If you decide to arrive late or leave early that will not change what it costs us for the group site, so no change to your registration fee will be offered.
Registration Assistance
If you would like to make a donation to the Camping Cèilidh Assistance Fund, you can add it into your registration as an Add-on item. Donations will help your fellow Cèilidh Campers who might otherwise be unable to attend. Any remaining funds after the event registration closes will be donated to the Celtic Arts Foundation. Donations are NOT tax deductible.
If you are in need of help from the Assistance Fund, please email seumas@seumasgagne.com to let us know.
Cancelations
Cancelations received by July 20th 2023 will receive a full refund. Cancelations received between July 21st and August 3rd will receive a 50% refund. No refunds will be available for cancelations received during the event.
Covid Safety
Camping is one of the safest things you can do in a global pandemic because the great outdoors has great air circulation! Of course, we will be following current CDC guidance for infection prevention.
Past Events
Seumas will be judging the harp competitions at the Ohio Scottish Games sponsored by the Scottish Harp Society of America.
I will be a guest at the choir's 35th anniversary celebration, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. I might be singing a Gaelic song composed in the trenches. Maybe.
Tickets $15
Seniors & Students $10
Reserve your tickets early by calling Roberta at 604-433-3326 or email bikerider@telus.net (subject 35)
After you've seen Dàimh in concert on February 18, come and dance to their tunes at the historic Seattle Eagles Mother Aerie #1. Brandon Vance, Richard Hill, and I will be there to contribute a song or two at intermission. Tickets $15 at the door, more info at (206) 861-4530.
Join me and the usual suspects for an evening of song and story in this intimate, acoustic setting. $10 suggested donation at the door.
I'm thrilled to have been invited back to this prestigious event. I will be teaching intermediate harp students and offering workshops to all and am looking forward to spending the week with the students and my fellow presenters, Sharlene Wallace, Caroline Mackay, and Phamie Gow. They've also added a cello workshop with Morag Northey. I'm also pretty excited to be able to dine at the Bear's Paw in Lower Wells again!
Using the innovative language teaching method pioneered by Willem Larsen and Brian O hAirt in Portland, Oregon called Language Hunters, Seumas will keep the participants speaking and listening to Gaelic for most of the day. The Language Hunters method relies on active learning, problem solving, and immersive game play to develop oral fluency. It is particularly well suited for mixed-level groups, so the full-day workshop will be suitable for anyone from a total beginner to an experienced teacher wanting to explore immersive learning techniques. We’ll sing, play, and laugh through our one-room Gaelic school day. $25 pre-registration required. $15 students and seniors.
A set of songs and tunes; some old and some new!
When The Blind Harper Took On The Chief of MacLeod The life story of Ruaidhri MacMhuirich, the last harper to the MacLeods of Dunvegan, his patron Iain Breac and Iain’s son and heir, Ruaidhri who is the subject of the bitingly satirical song.
A set of songs and tunes; some old and some new!
Seumas appears with the Vancouver and District Gaelic Choir and other guests for their Spring concert. Tickets: $15 General, $10 Seniors & students. Contact Roberta 604-433-3326 or email bikerider@telus.net to book tickets.
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