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Comunn Féis An Eilein
News
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17th Annual Feis an Eilein
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The Annual Feis continues until Saturday August 25th, 2007 Please note the Flute-Making Demonstration with Ryan MacNeil has been rescheduled for Saturday from 1:30-3:00 pm
Events on Friday 12-2:00pm Fellowship of Youth-TIP Session with Beth MacNeil, 2:00pm-3:30 pm Beginner and Intermediate/Advanced Fiddle Workshops with Anita MacDonald and Paul Wutitsch, Flute Making Demonstration with Ryan MacNeil is rescheduled for Saturday, 6:30-8:00 pm Gaelic Song Workshop with Beth MacNeil, 9:00 pm -1:00am Family Square Set with Ian MacDougall and Dawn MacDonald-Gillis. Admission $8.00, under 16 admitted free but MUST be accompanied by an adult. Call the feis at 622-2627 for more information. |
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Letter to residents
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Dear Community Residents,
We are writing to inform you of the activities Comunn Feis an Eilein has undertaken in the past year and to up-date you on all the exciting activities we have planned for the summer season.
Notable among our activities last year was offering the innovative TIP methodology for teaching Gaelic Language. TIP stands for Total Immersion Plus. It is a method based on oral repetition of words in a natural every-day situation. It was developed in response to concerns in Scotland that although thousands of children had received Gaelic language instruction in school, these students were not speaking the language outside of the classroom. It was determined that this was due to the fact that many of their parents and other community members could not speak Gaelic. TIP was designed to quickly bring people with no Gaelic language skills to speaking it fluently. Féis an Eilein sponsored a Pilot Project in the winter of 2005. We were so impressed with the level of fluency achieved by those who attended that we came together with Gaelic learners from Iona, Baddeck, Saint Ann’s, and Sydney areas to apply for funding to sponsor a full 200 hour program this past fall and winter. Their achievements regarding increased fluency were closely documented and have formed the basis of extending this program to other areas. One component of the TIP method is to take this new-found fluency out of the classroom and bring it into the community. Currently a group of former participants are meeting at the Beaver Cove Take-Out Wednesday mornings from 10:00 am -11:00am to share a cup of tea and visit while speaking in Gaelic. Everyone is welcome to attend these sessions.
Féis an Eilein also undertook a process of Strategic Planning for our organization. The resulting Plan is call Solas Aig An Uinneag-A Light At The Window and in it we have identified actions and initiatives for the coming years. Foremost in our planning is the resolve to offer more TIP instruction. Our membership firmly believes that this initiative will increase the use of Gaelic in our communities, and will also provide employment for our residents as we have long-range plans to establish a TIP Center. This center has the potential to attract Gaelic learners from all over the world to our area. Also newsworthy in relation to the revitalization of Gaelic is the recent appointment made by Premier Rodney MacDonald of a Minister Responsible for Gaelic Initiatives. Gaelic learners and Organizations throughout Nova Scotia are eagerly anticipating the increased human and financial resources that this appointment will bring to efforts to promote and preserve Gaelic language and culture.
We have also committed to offering a Gaelic Drama Program for youth and adults. This program is to be implemented this summer as you will see in this year’s Féis brochure.
All of these activities have placed a strain on our financial resources. In an attempt to gain greater stability we are reaching out to our community to ask for your assistance. We have decided to visit your homes to ask you to support our activities. Our Summer Students will be asking for your support through purchasing a Membership to our Society at $5.00 per person or $10.00 per family. We are also accepting Charitable Donations and receipts for Income Tax Deductions will be issued for all donated amounts. We also hope you will plan to attend our weekly Gaelic Concert Series. These concerts will present some of the finest traditional Gaelic artists in a setting devoted to promoting Gaelic language and culture. They are unique to our area as this is the only concert series devoted to Gaelic language and music.
Féis an Eilein Travel Group are also raising funds to travel to Scotland where we hope to make connections and gain support for our organization’s community initiatives. Our current fund-raising activity is the sale of bi-lingual Gaelic-English 2007 Calendars. They feature Barry George’s art-work from our Feis T-Shirts, as well as two sketches by Angus MacLeod and will make a great present and an every-day reminder of our community’s Gaelic heritage in your own homes. The Summer Students will have these Calendars with them when they visit your homes. They are beautifully done and the cost is only $10.00 each. They will also have copies of our Féis CD Còmhla Cruinn Gathered Together- A Cape Breton Gaelic Celebration available at a special cost of $15.00 for this fundraiser. Thank you for your interest and we hope to see you at the Féis!
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Calling all actors
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Calling all Actors !
Comunn Féis an Eilein will be producing a Gaelic Drama production this summer. The play "As a' Cheò" or From the Mist" is written and directed by Colette Thomas. Rehearsals will be held 2 evenings a week and Saturday afternoons in July and August. The production will be presented on August 22nd and 23rd.The actors will receive a stipend of $50 for each of the two evening performances. The play, performed
entirely in Gaelic, centers around the story-telling tradition of the Gaels where folklore and superstition come to life right before your eyes.
Now the Féis is calling out to anyone that may be interested in playing a role. There is an actor in all of us and as Shakespeare said "All the world's a stage".
The play requires one role of a man between the ages of 40 and 103 who must be a fluent Gaelic speaker as he is the central character of the play. For all other roles some knowledge of Gaelic would be an asset but is not mandatory. The play calls for two roles for young ladies in their teens. All other roles are for men and women of all ages.
Auditions will be held on Wednesday Tuesday July 5th at 7pm to 9pm at the Christmas Island Firehall. If you have any questions or require more information you can contact
Colette @ 725-2563 or la_la_t@yahoo.com
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Invitation
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CBC Cape Breton and Comunn Féis an Eilein
celebrate Gaelic Awareness Month
with the screening of Thar Chuan is Chaolas |
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Premier announces Minister Resonsible for Gaelic Initiatives
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Premier-designate MacDonald Announces Cabinet
Premier's Office
February 23, 2006 14:26
Premier-designate Rodney MacDonald announced today, Feb. 23, the names of the 15 MLAs who will be in his cabinet. The provincial Executive Council will be sworn in on Friday, Feb. 24, at 11 a.m. in Halifax.
Angus MacIsaac is the Minister of Transportation and Public Works and the chair of Treasury and Policy Board. A former teacher, Mr. MacIsaac was first elected to represent the people of Guysborough in 1969 and re-elected in 1970. He returned to the Nova Scotia legislature in 1999, where he has served as Minister of Health, Minister for Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations and Minister of Education. The MLA for Antigonish, he is alsoresponsible for the Sydney Steel Corporation Act and Minister responsible for Gaelic Initiatives. |
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Feis an Eilein Annual Report
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Mandate:
The mandate of Comunn Féis an Eilein is to promote and preserve traditional Gaelic culture through means that are commensurate with the values of our community and which utilize the strengths of our community and with a particular focus on youth and seniors.
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Focus Group Evaluation of TIP
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Focus Group Evaluation of Total Immersion Plus (T.I.P.) classes in Christmas Island, Baddeck and Sydney
Christmas Island, April 8, 2006 1:00 B 3:20 p.m.
Background: Féis an Eilein applied for Gaelic Activities funding on behalf of three communities, Baddeck, Christmas Island and Sydney, to run T.I.P classes from October until December. Classes continued after the program was completed, with support from the Gaelic College. Instructor Angus MacLeod rotated between the three communities through the week: all three communities came together in one of the communities on Saturday.
Number of total participant in three communities B 45-60
Classes concluded on April 8 in Christmas Island.
Participants at the evaluation session: Angus MacLeod, Fr. Francis Cameron, Jim MacNeil, Florence MacIsaac, Debi MacNeil, Allison MacKenzie, Colette Thomas, Kaye Anne MacNeil, John MacNeil, Janet Cameron, Beth MacNeil, Clare MacNeil.
Facilitator and report writer: Frances MacEachen (Note: italicized comments in parentheses are comments expressed during the presentations back to the whole group.)
Purpose: To obtain feedback on the T.I.P program you attended and to seek suggestions on ways future T.I.P sessions can be improved.
Ground Rules:
$ No need for consensus
$ No right or wrong answers
$ Every contribution is valuable, even negative ones
$ Report will distributed back to participants and will be shared with Comhairle na Gàidhlig and other T.I.P organizers and groups. |
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