Festivals and Frolics
In the land of the Bras d’Or, it sometimes seems like the hills themselves are fiddling a Celtic tune or singing a Gaelic song. It’s hard to imagine a time when toes aren’t tapping and bows aren’t flying at festivals, workshops, classes, dances, ceilidhs, frolics and kitchen parties. In Cape Breton, the only area in the world where Gaelic continues as a living language, music, dance and storytelling are a way of life. Looking for some authentic Cape Breton culture? Check out the nearest community hall – there’s sure to be someone making musical magic on the local stage.

In summer, the Bras d’Or’s regular festival schedule includes:

• Féis a Chlachain, in the village of Iona, on the west side of the Barra Strait. This 1-day event, held each year in mid-May, celebrates Gaelic Cultural Awareness Month, with workshops led by local Gaelic singers. Learn traditional “milling” songs, and practice them at an evening “Milling Frolic.”


• Baddeck Gathering Ceilidh, in the village of Baddeck, on the north side of St. Patrick’s Channel. Named for a popular local fiddle tune, this summer celebration of Cape Breton music runs every night of the week in July and August, at St. Michael’s Parish Hall on the village’s main street.

• Big Pond Summer Festival, on the south side of East Bay. This week-long celebration, held in mid-July, features family entertainment, square dances, workshops, and performances by some of Cape Breton’s most well known fiddlers, singers, and step and highland dancers.


• Wycocomagh Summer Festival, at the head of the Bras d’Or Lakes on St. Patrick’s Channel. Held during the third week of July, this event features “Ceilidhs on the Waterfront,” with traditional Scottish and Mi’kmaq music and dance.

• Highland Village Day, at the Highland Village and Museum, a recreation of Scottish settler life, in the village of Iona. This annual festival of Cape Breton and Scottish music and dance is held on the first Saturday of August.


• Féis an Eilein, at Christmas Island, just east of Grand Narrows on the south side of St. Andrews Channel. The longest-running Gaelic festival in Nova Scotia, and the first “Féis” (Gaelic community festival) to be held outside Scotland, this mid-August event features workshops in Gaelic language, song, fiddle and step dancing, and a Thursday night “Milling Frolic.” The Commun Féis an Eilein, organizing body of the festival, also sponsors a series of summer concerts featuring local Gaelic singers. All events take place at the Christmas Island Fire Hall.