2008 ACGA Immersion/Grandfather Mountain Combined!
Grandfather Mountain Gaelic Song and Language Week / Immersion Week
July 6 - 11, 2008
Come to the beautiful mountains of North Carolina, a state rich in Gaelic heritage. Enjoy Scottish Gaelic language classes for beginner, intermediate, and advanced speakers and singing classes covering a range of traditional Gaelic song forms, including waulking, or milling, songs and mouth music.
This year’s Grandfather Mountain Gaelic Song and Language Week (once again combined with the Immersion Week) will run from July 6th through the 11th. The course will consist of language and song classes at graduated levels. Other activities include special interest sessions in the afternoon, an evening cèilidh, Gaelic videos, a silent auction, hikes in the beautiful surrounding mountains and the North Carolina Gaelic Mòd which is held during the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games the weekend following.
The workshop is housed at Lees-MacRae College in Banner Elk, North Carolina. Information about the cost of tuition, room, and board is available on the Registration Form.
We are pleased to announce the following instructors for 2008:
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Mary Ann Kennedy is a Glasgow Gael, now living in Lochaber
where she and her husband, Nick Turner, run Watercolour Music Studios
in the idyllic West Highlands. A trad music background and a classical
training coupled with fifteen years experience working with the BBC has
established her as a major figure in the Scottish music scene, equally
respected as a performer and as an authoritative commentator on world,
classical, traditional and folk music.
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Maureen Lyon is a native Gaelic speaker from the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, now residing in Surrey, BC. Her dedication to promoting Gaelic Culture in its various forms has been a life long interest that has brought her great satisfaction and many friends. Gaelic was a main subject in her schooling at both elementary and secondary school levels. After graduating as a teacher of Physical Education in Aberdeen, she studied Gaelic with a view towards teaching proficiency in the language. Since 1985 she has been Gaelic Tutor to the Vancouver Gaelic Choir, and has taught various class levels in the city for many years. Other Gaelic teaching venues have been: North Idaho School of Scottish Studies, Winnipeg School of Scottish Studies, and Slighe nan Gaidheal in Seattle. Her ability to present Gaelic songs in class, adds considerably to her students’ complete understanding of the language and culture. She views her association with Gaelic Culture as a delightful opportunity to promote a rich heritage and to enjoy the valuable interchange of all cultures.
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Dr. Jamie MacDonald is a native of North Carolina and has spent many years studying Gaelic language and song. He was the first American to compete and win a prize at the National Mòd in Scotland in Gaelic singing. Jamie has won medals at the Vancouver Mòd and at the U.S. Mòd, where he has won the men’s Gold Medal four times. He earned his Ph.D. in Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh and has taught Gaelic and Gaelic song in Scotland and in the U.S. |
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Gillebride MacMillan was brought up in the rich Gaelic culture of Gearraidh Bhailteas in South Uist where Gaelic was his first language. He has been singing since childhood and he is one of the only people to win all the major competitions at the Royal National Mòd in the child and adult competitions. He won both gold medals for solo singing at the Royal National Mòd, the traditional in 2000 and the regular in 2004. He also won the Puirt a Beul competitions four times. In late 2006, he released his first solo CD, Thogainn Ort Fonn. He also has a degree in Celtic Studies from Glasgow University and he currently works as a Gaelic translator, Gaelic distance learning teacher and writer. |
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Calum Martin is a musician and native Gaelic speaker from the Isle of Lewis. A skilled presenter of Gaelic Psalms, Calum is probably best known for his Gaelic Psalm recordings with the Free Church congregation in Back, Isle of Lewis. As a singer / guitarist / songwriter, he fronted the local Lewis band Island Express. Island Express was undoubtedly the band from the grass roots that were closest to Runrig in both the style of song and in actual sound. He is currently working as a music singing specialist in schools in Lewis. He recently put together a program called The Megantic Outlaw for the Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow. The Megantic Outlaw takes its name from that popularly bestowed on Donald Morrison (1858-1894), a once-celebrated outlaw figure in the frontier folklore of Quebec, where his parents settled after being cleared from Lewis. |
Cìsean [Fees] |
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All instruction, lodging for 5 nights and 3 meals a day from Sunday evening dinner to Friday lunch are included. There are options for tuition only for those not staying at the college and family members not attending classes as well. Both single and double rooms are available and anyone wishing one can have a single room at the same price as a double. Cafeteria meals are quite good and provide a good selection to cater to most diets. A salad bar is offered at almost every meal and an ice cream bar is always available as well. Further meals and additional dorm room nights are available for a reasonable charge from the college for those staying for the Highland Games. |
Clàr-Ùine [Schedule] |
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Check in will take place from 2:00
to 5:00 on Sunday afternoon. Dinner will be available for those
who arrive before 6 pm. Classes will begin Monday and run through
noon on Friday. There are a variety of special interest sessions
being planned for the afternoon and opportunities for fellowship
with other Gaelic learners in the evening. |
Siubhal [Travel] |
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If you will be flying the nearest airports are Tri-Cities, Tennessee, and Charlotte, North Carolina. Take a look at the Town of Banner Elk Web site. Van service from Charlotte Airport to Banner Elk, NC can be obtained by contacting: Air Haven Limo
NOTE: These directions are not the
same as Mapquest or Yahoo! but are better suited to those not
familiar with mountain driving. · Take Interstate 77 north. Follow this until the junction with US Highway 421. · Then take US Highway 421 West until you reach Boone, NC. You are almost there now. · Simply take Highway 105 south in Boone until you get to the Scottish Shopping Village of Tyncastle where you will see a big sign for Grandfather Mountain. · There will also be signs there telling you to turn right on Highway 184 to get to Banner Elk. Banner Elk is only a few miles from there and the town is so small you cannot miss the college. When you come to the T-junction at the traffic light (the only one in Banner Elk), turn left. A block up the road you will see a large parking lot on the right. When you are almost past the parking lot, turn left into the college and drive up the road to the stop sign. Turn left at the stop sign and you will see Virginia Hall on your right. Scenic directions: From Charlotte Douglas
International Airport, take I-485 to I-85 West. Take I-85 to 321
North, at Exit 17. Follow 321 through Hickory and Lenoir to Boone.
At Boone, turn left onto Rte 105 at large intersection. Take Rte
105 approximately 15 miles and turn right at the traffic light
onto Rte 184 (Tynecastle Hwy). Stay on Rte 184 until it ends at
Rte 194 in Banner Elk. Turn left. Lees-McRae College is on the
left. |
An Aimsir [The Weather] |
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Temperatures usually range in the low 60’s to mid 80’s during July. The weather is normally beautiful and cool. However, it can be hot, and it can be cold. It is advisable to bring both a fan for your room and a blanket for your bed. Shorts and lightweight long pants are both appropriate as are short sleeved t-shirts and light weight sweaters. A raincoat or umbrella is also advised just in case the weather doesn’t cooperate. |
Rudan Feumail [Useful Things] |
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Dorm Room Items:
Personal Items:
Classroom items:
Other items:
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The workshop ends just as the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games (July 11 - 13) are getting underway down the road in MacRae Meadow on Grandfather Mountain. As usual there will be a Gaelic tent at the games, and the North Carolina Gaelic Mòd will take place at the games on Saturday, July 12, 2008.
