Highland Village Has Much to Offer During Celtic Colours Festival

The Highland Village is an outdoor living history that tells the story of Gaelic settlement in Nova Scotia. The Village is located in Iona, Cape Breton and will be an exciting place to be during the Celtic Colours International Festival from October 10-18 this year.

Cape Breton has the only living Celtic culture in North America and the beautiful 43 acre site in Iona is dedicated to celebrating our Gaelic story. Costumed animators occupy the 11 period buildings on the property and have a special passion for telling this story because in many cases, they are direct descendants of the Gaelic settlers in the area.

During the Celtic Colours Festival, the Village will be alive with music, dance & storytelling. There will be lectures, demonstrations and workshops. There will even be a special Gaelic tour of the 11 historic buildings lead by costumed animators.

The Highland Village is centrally located and is a great place to spend the day when you are travelling to one of the evening Celtic Colours venues. It is also a Festival venue. On Friday, October 17, there will be a Celtic Colours Concert in the Malagawatch Church at the Village.

The Highland Village is also a great place to research your family tree. If you have Cape Breton ancestors, you can research them at the Village’s Roots Cape Breton Genealogy & Family History Centre. The Village also houses a collection of over 3,000 artifacts that represent the life of our Gaelic ancestors in Cape Breton.

The Highland Village Library has over 900 books with subjects ranging from Scottish and Cape Breton history, use of herbs, Mi’kmaq culture and Gaelic books.

The Joe MacLean Collection of Scottish and Cape Breton Music has been added to the Highland Village resources. This major collection contains many early books of Scottish music and hand noted music of some of our best fiddlers

The Highland Village also offers some great Gaelic online resources for you to explore.

Cape Breton Island and the Highland Village will be jumping this October 10-18. We hope you can join us then.

Written for www.celticheart.ca by Max MacDonald