Tursachan

The Newsletter of the Callanish School of Celtic Arts

Dear Students and Parents,

The end of the year is quickly approaching! Our 7th Annual Winter Solstice cèilidh will be held on Saturday, December 20th. Please invite all your friends and family to take part in our evening of fun, but make sure that you return your invitation list so that we know how many chairs to set up. The instructors of the Callanish School are very proud of the accomplishments of their students over the past year. Have a wonderful Holiday Season!

Nollaig Chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr,
(Merry Christmas and Happy New Year)

Maggie Carchrie

Make-Up Lessons Slated

Make-up lessons for the fall semester for dance students will be held on Monday, December 22nd at the WBCB. A list of eligible students will be handed out the last day of class before Christmas. The schedule for the 22nd is as follows:

Bagpipe Lessons Scheduled

Bagpipe lessons with Donald Lindsay of Albany, NY will be held on Friday & Saturday, December 12/13. The band class for Colum Cille will be from 3-5 PM on Saturday. Please contact Maggie directly to schedule private lessons in desired.

Natalie MacMaster Concert

The Callanish School will be taking a trip to see world-famous Cape Breton Fiddler, Natalie MacMaster, on Sunday, January 11th at 3 PM, Symphony Hall, Boston. The cost per ticket is $25, which includes a group discount if 20 or more tickets are purchased. Please have your payment in full to Maggie by 12/20 if you are interested in attending. Checks are payable to the School. Carpooling will be available if interested. Dancers – this is the fiddler on our warm up CD!

Tuition Due

Tuition for the winter semester for dance and fiddle students is due by your last lesson in December, either the 15th or 18th. There is currently a waiting list for fiddle lessons, so please make sure to register by December 15th or you may loose your lesson time.

Callanish Winter Fling Update

Things are well underway for our 3rd annual Callanish Winter Fling. We will be having a raffle in conjunction with Saturday’s competition to help defray our costs. Please consider donating an item yourself or getting a restaurant or shop to donate something. I have copies of the HLSS tax exempt status if you would like a copy when approaching stores. All donations will be tax deductible. Also, there are lots of jobs that need to be filled. Please see Maggie if you are interested in helping out of Saturday, January 31st! Don’t forget to get your competition entries in to Maggie ASAP!

Cèilidh Details

Please arrive dressed for the cèilidh. Fiddle students need to wear a white shirt and black pants and will be given either a tartan tie or sash to wear. Dancers will dress according to which dance they are performing first. The side room to Carleton Hall will be blocked off for dancers to change in during the show. Please remember to bring clothes to change into after the picture as we don’t want tomato sauce to end up on our nice outfits! It is important that you arrive no later than 5:00 so that the cèilidh can start promptly at 5:30. A program will be printed this year and all students will know what they are to perform well in advance. Maggie will be giving all students a form that needs to be filled out ASAP with the number of guests you are bringing (the more the merrier) and what food item(s) you will be bringing for the pot luck supper. There will also be a list going around for jobs, including setting up and cleaning up. The School will provide the paper goods. Remember, bring more food than you think you need! We tend to run out of food and there are never enough drinks! Since the School has grown so large in the past year, we have decided to rent a larger space. Maggie asks that each person attending donate $1 to cover the hall rental, that way, it doesn’t have to come out of our fundraising account. Here is a rough break-down of the evenings events:

Directions to Carleton Hall

Carleton Hall is located on Old Bass River Road, Dennis.

If coming from the upper Cape:

Take the mid-Cape highway to exit 8. Take a left off of the ramp and follow Union Street/Station Avenue north to Route 6A. Take a right onto 6A and follow into Dennis Center. Take a right onto Old Bass River Road right after the Congregational Church with the gazebo out front and by the Mobil Station. If you have come to the Dennis Playhouse, you have gone too far. Carleton hall will be the first building on the left after the library.

If coming from the lower Cape:

Take the mid-Cape highway to exit 9B heading. Follow Route 134 north until it intersects with Route 6A. Take a left and follow 6A into Dennis Center. Just after the Dennis Playhouse, Old Bass River Road will be on the left.

Secret Snowflake

Secret Snowflake will take place at the cèilidh again this year. Students wishing to participate will be given a secret name and will need to bring a present between $10-$15 to the cèilidh. Please only put the recipient’s name on the gift and not your own. There will a table designated just for the Secret Snowflake gifts and students will get to open and guess their snowflake after dinner.

Important Reminder!

Candle Pick-Up will be on Sunday, December 14 between 10 AM – 5 PM and on Monday, December 15 between 4 – 9 PM at Maggie’s House. Candles will not be brought into lessons at the WBCB due to being fragile and having too many to transport.

Upcoming Events

20 December Winter Solstice Cèilidh, 5:30 pm
New Location: Carleton Hall, Dennis
24 January HLSS Burns Supper, Cape Codder Hotel, 7 pm
30 January–1 February Callanish Winter Fling, Cape Cod Community College
11 February Thirwood Place Assisted Living, Yarmouth (Arrive 5:30 for 6 pm Show)
20–22 February DELCO Workshop, King of Prussia, PA
6 March CCCC Multicultural Fair, 10 am–4 pm
7 March Cape Regency Nursing Home, C’Ville (Arrive 2 pm for 2:30 Show)
13 March Corned Beef & Cabbage Dinner (Fundraiser) Bookstore and Restaurant, Wellfleet, MA
20 March Celtic Thunder Concert (Rù-Rà & Lissa), Carleton Hall, Dennis, 7 pm
21 March Hyannis Skilled Care Center, Hyannis
(Arrive 2 pm for 2:30 Show)
27 April Orleans Woman’s Club, 1:30 PM

Need more info on festivals? See the official Highland Games web site at: www.maclachlans.org/games.html