The rest of Cape Breton

Having completed the Cabot Trail it was time to turn our attention to the east side of the island and devote some time to music! Thayer and I both enjoy Celtic music and were very happy to stumble upon one of the best festivals in the world devoted to it. This year's theme was the connection between Maritime Canada music and their European and Scandinavian roots. As I stated in a previous post the festival is about so much more than music. After saying farewell to our young friends we cruised on down to a medium sized town called Baddeck, where many events were scheduled. We wandered through an art show of local artists, and then took ourselves down to the Alexander Graham Bell Museum.

A.G. Bell Museum

A.G. Bell fell in love with Cape Breton after his success with the telephone. He built a large home, or small castle, that is still owned and used by the family, called Beinn Bhreagh. As a young man Bell was driven to help deaf and blind communicate and did much to improve their lives. Once Bell was awarded the patent for the telephone, which took many years, he came to C.B. to work on his other ideas. He was fascinated by flying and worked on enormous kites, thinking that might be the way to get man in the air. He had time and money to work on any project he could imagine and he had a lively imagination!  He had an amazingly scientific and inventive mind and was largely self taught. Bell developed a photo phone, improved the phonograph significantly, and developed hydrofoil boats to name just a few of his ideas. The museum was filled with artifacts donated by the family. I started reading a book called Reluctant Genius, a biography about him, that someday I will buy and finish. Bell was also a devoted family man and the museum is filled with wonderful family photos showing Bell's tender side. We spent several hours here but could have spent more. 

beautiful quilting!

Other activities in Baddeck included a fibre arts show with quilts, tapestry, knitting, applique', and many other creative and useful crafts. One gal was "up-cycling" old wool sweaters into very cute mittens, which I should have taken a picture of, but I didn't. There was some beautiful work displayed. We then found our way to the Baddeck Yacht Club for a couple of hours of live music and dancing. There is such an enthusiasm for music in this place, it is really infectious! The musicians will be playing away and a person of any age might just leap up and dance for a few minutes, always receiving an encouraging round of applause. As we were driving out of town to the potluck supper we had scheduled we ran into Klaus. He was on the final leg of his journey on his bicycle and would be leaving in a couple of days for home. After trading contact information we said our goodbyes. In Whycocomagh we loaded up our plates and chowed down on some great home cooked food and visited with some really friendly folks. Of course, there were a mother and daughter providing some nice music. There was a ton of leftover food so they let us load up a doggie box for the next day. But, soon enough, it was time for us to drive to Sydney for our first big concert. 

Each of the big concerts in the larger venues had 3-6 different groups lined up to play. They each played 4-5 pieces and then at the end they would all come on stage and play the finale together. We heard some fantastic music from an interesting variety of groups. Some groups looked like they had been working on the farm all day, dusted of the hay, and hurried to the concert to play. Others were very polished and looked really young. There were groups from Ireland, Scandinavia, the Shetland Isles, and Scotland as well as Canada. Some of the music was what you know: traditional fiddle tunes, jigs, reels and dances. Other music was a cross between Celtic and Rock- all very high energy! We really loved it! The skill of the players was fantastic. I'm running out of superlatives here so I will stop trying to describe it. If you like this kind of music you must someday come to this festival!

finale at Marion Bridge

Giant fiddle at Sydney concert hall

As we left the hall that night we noticed our friends, Jean Ramon and Lizette, parked in the concert hall parking lot. We spent the night just up the street and visited with them in the morning. They might be looking at getting a larger RV because Lizette has trouble accomplishing her yoga with the low ceiling in their pre-Rialta. I laughed, I will be starting my yoga practice completely from scratch when I get back, its pathetic. We spent the bulk of the day exploring Sydney, getting caught up with the internet, and enjoying the sun. In the late afternoon we wandered down to Marion Bridge on the Mira River, a small town about 30 km from Sydney, where we had a dinner and concert scheduled. We pulled into the parking lot of the community center next to a RV and within 3 minutes were chatting with David. We had a nice ham and potato dinner at the hall and then walked to the concert venue down the street. It was another great concert that I will not try to describe since I have used all the good words already. 

The next day was devoted to Fort Louisburg, an old fort celebrating its 300th birthday this year. We cut it a little fine, as the day we were there was the LAST day of the season. Fort Louisburg was built by the French, taken over twice by the British, burned at least once, abandoned in the 1760's, and left in ruins for almost 200 years. In 1961 the excavation and rebuild of the fort and town was begun as a make work project for a bunch of coal miners who were unemployed when the mines shut down. Working with archeologists, historians and master craftsmen they rebuilt the Governor's "Castle" and one fifth of the town outside the fort. They used many historical documents to rebuild the town and refurnish the buildings. Documents included building plans, maps, deeds, inventories, shipping documents, military logbooks, and personal accounts and diaries. Many original foundations were used in the reconstruction of the town. This year, in particular, they brought the place to life, filling it with authentically dressed personnel and period actors. I sat and talked with several of them since it wasn't crowded and learned a lot about their place in the town and in history. I had a long conversation with a Mi'kmaq tribal member about treatment of the native peoples through the settlement of the Maritime Provinces. Turns out they were treated quite a bit better than the native peoples of the US. The Mi'kmaq and the French frequently joined forces against the British or the Americans, depending on the conflict. 

Rebuilt town of Ft. Louisburg

Governor's digs

Thayer and I became separated early on, as we usually do, and didn't see each other until the end of the day. The fort is so big that there was no way to find each other. With it being so late in the season, not all of the usual buildings were open but there was more than enough to see and we were tired by the time we found each other.  Fort Louisburg is a must see for anyone planning a visit to Cape Breton. For the Music festival they hosted a night where attendees ate an authentic 18th century meal, walked the streets guided by lantern carrying villagers, listened to music and storytellers, and drank at the taverns. It sounded like a really fun night but the tickets were sold out months ago. 

Governor's Chapel

Mi'kmaq man

Lucille and me

Spruce branch=PUB

Main gate to the wharves

storehouse

That night we spent at St. Peter's, attended a casual community music session, where our friend David bravely played his guitar and sang. The next morning I took a nice walk along the canal and into town. The canal is unusual in that it has to work both ways between the ocean and the lake. Sometimes the lake is higher than the ocean and sometimes lower so it has double locks at each end.

Community Jam

St. Peter's Canal and Locks

Farewell Cape Breton Island! It's on to Nova Scotia and the Bay of Fundy!