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SHARING TALENT - Two of many Cape Breton fiddlers to take their music beyond the Cape Breton Island were Sydney area performers, Winston Scotty Fitzgerald and Winnie Chafe. Each eventually made their home in Boston and from there launched many concerts and albums. Winnie connected with classical musicians and eventually returned home to pass on her knowledge to young and older students.28
Inverness Pipe Band13 August 1980
Canso Causeway 25th Anniversary
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HANDWEAVING NEW PATTERNS - The Canso Causeway has also inspired designs in fabric. Florence Mackley in her book Handweaving in Cape Breton explains why she designed a special pattern in 1955. She writes "I thought it would be fun to design a draft to commemorate this event (building the Causeway). This was used chiefly for skirts. A roundish shape was selected to represent the island, a small connecting link joined it to the mainland which was represented by a long narrow design." Plate 25 in the book shows Terry MacLellan wearing a Causeway patterned skirt woven by Ann MacLellan.In 1980, to celebrate the Canso Causeway's 25th anniversary, Diane Harris adapted Mrs. Mackley's original weaving pattern to design a pattern for sweaters that were knitted and sold by Island Crafts.
Here George Ingraham marches across the Causeway on the 25th Anniversary with the Inverness Pipe Band.
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Port Hawkesbury fiddlers1984
Port Hawkesbury, Inverness County, Nova Scotia, Canada
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Father Colonel MacLeod display8 August 2004
Gut of Canso Museum and Archives
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GUT OF CANSO MUSEUM AND ARCHIVESNEWEST DISPLAY - "Father Colonel was persistent! Father MacLeod not only loved fiddle music, but loved the unity it created. He nurtured this at every opportunity, most particularly at the fiddle sessions we'd have each month at Stella Maris Glebe House in Creignish. This was a gathering of the younger generation of musicians, including myself, Wendy MacIsaac, Ashley MacIsaac, Stephanie Wills, Neil Beaton and others who cared to join in. Father would encourage us to learn new tunes each week and he would help us to put together groups of tunes for various selections........" Natalie MacMaster, Summer 2004
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Port Hastings Historical Society entertaining visitors in St. David's Church Hall.1986
St. David's Church Hall, Port Hastings
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NATURAL TALENT - Young Ashley MacIsaac, Natalie MacMaster, Stephanie Wills and Wendy MacIsaac as very young musicians performed for visitors at St. David's Church Hall for tourists at Ceilidhs(pronounced kay lee) sponsored by the Port Hastings Historical Society in 1987 and 1988.Sharing their talent has always been a custom locally of the many talented dancers and musicians that continues every summer at outdoor concerts. The world class "Celtic Colours" that occurs on Cape Breton Island every October has given many local musicians another opportunity to perform before large audiences. Some have gone on to make a living with their music.
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Under the Map Theater group 1989 program1989
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UNDER THE MAP THEATRE - In 1989, the town of Port Hawkesbury celebrated its centennial. One of the many special activities that year was the formation of the Under the Map theatre group that performed plays depicting the town's history on four consecutive nights in August using Granville Street as the setting. Here Comes the Causeway was one of the songs that was sung on three nights; Through the Years, Crossing the Strait and Getting Together. Helen MacDonald and Hilary Fraser with help from members of the community composed new lyrics to old tunes for some of the songs of the four plays. Under the Map Theatre is thriving and continuing to entertain audiences in 2004 in the Strait of Canso area after all these years.37
Under the Map Theater performing in front of the Peter Paint buildingAugust, 1989
Port Hawkesbury, Inverness County, Nova Scotia, Canada
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STORIES NEW AND OLD - In addition to several plays about the Causeway and Strait of Canso, there are many stories and poems. From the 1952 poem by Dan Louis Macdonald about the Bochan Bridge of Canso to Roald Buckley's 1955 fictional Saga of the Reluctant Piper and J. William Calder's tales of Uncle Angus to Alistair MacLeod's mention in No Great Mischief, the Causeway has been the theme in a variety of writing since its construction.For the 50th anniversary of the Canso Causeway in 2005, some residents of the area and former residents are writing their stories of preconstruction days to the present. These stories are as varied as their owners, some humorous, others poignant but all personal expressions of their experiences and feelings of the Causeway and Cape Breton. The collection of stories will be a lasting legacy for future generations.
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Granville Green outdoor concert in the Strait of Canso.2003
Port Hawkesbury, Inverness County, Nova Scotia, Canada
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"GRANVILLE GREEN CONCERTS" are held outdoors overlooking the scenic Strait of Canso on the north end of Granville Street in Port Hawkesbury. Since 1994, these free concerts have been organized by the Port Hawkesbury Department of Recreation and Tourism with the financial support of the business and corporate community. National and international groups and individuals perform every Sunday night in July and August at 7 pm.Come out and enjoy!!!!
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