|
|
- Info
2006 Immersion Weekend
Fàilte gu Carolina a Tuath!
[Welcome to North Carolina]
|
|
An Comunn
Gàidhealach, America (ACGA), is excited to announce a joint
venture for 2006 in which the 10th anniversary of the Gaelic
Immersion Weekend and the 7th anniversary of the Grandfather
Mountain Gaelic Song and Language Week will be merged into one
grand event to take place from Sunday, July 2 to Friday July 7,
2006.
Come to the beautiful
mountains of North Carolina, a state where Gaelic was still spoken
at the end of the nineteenth century. Enjoy language
classes for beginner, intermediate, and advanced Gaelic speakers
and singing classes covering a range of traditional Gaelic song
forms, including waulking or milling songs and mouth music.
Other
activities will include a cèilidh, a silent auction,
viewing Gaelic videos, and hikes in the beautiful surrounding
mountains. The workshop ends just as the Grandfather
Mountain Highland Games are getting underway down the road at
MacRae Meadows on Grandfather Mountain. As usual there
will be a Gaelic tent at the games, and the North
Carolina Gaelic Mòd will take place there on the
Saturday.
The Grandfather Mountain Gaelic Song and Language
Week is located at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, North
Carolina in what is known as the “high country.” Banner
Elk is located between Boone and Linville in western North
Carolina. Lees-McRae College is close to the intersection of
Highway 194 and Highway 184 in Banner Elk. The nearest
airports are Tri-Cities, TN, and Charlotte, NC.
For the registration
form click
here.
For more information, contact Libit Woodington at
LibitW@aol.com, Cam MacRae at
acmacr2@uky.edu, or Jamie
MacDonald at jrmacdon@stfx.ca.
|
|
Cò bhitheas a' teagasg? [Who will be
teaching?]
|
|
Kenna Campbell has combined a long performing career
with a deep desire to pass on what she herself has learned to
younger generations of performers. A trained teacher, Kenna has
acquired a highly-respected combination of authority and
experience through formal training and through the traditional
musical background that has seen her acknowledged as one of
Gaeldom's primary musical and cultural tradition-bearers.
Hailing from the Isle of Skye and a family of singers and
pipers, it would be safe to say that Kenna comes from a very
musical family. She won the gold medal at the National Mòd
in Scotland, as did her brother and her two daughters.
Kenna
has been principal tutor in Gaelic song at the Royal Scottish
Academy of Music and Drama since the inception of the degree
course in Scottish Music.
|
|
|
|
|
Sorley MacDonald is a native speaker from the Isle of
Skye and was one of the first pupils to come through Gaelic
medium education. He comes from a family steeped in Gaelic
tradition on both sides. His grandfather was the well-known
poet Sorley Maclean.
Sorley carried on with Gaelic at
University, gaining an honours degree in Gaelic and History
from the University of Glasgow and is now completing his
postgraduate teaching diploma at the University of Strathclyde
with a view to becoming a Gaelic and History high school
teacher. He has also worked as a presenter on the Gaelic TV
program called "De a-Nis?" aimed at 10-14 year
olds.
In addition to his Gaelic activities, he is a very
keen shinty player having represented Scotland at under 18 and
under 21 levels in matches against Ireland.
|
|
|
Dr. Jamie MacDonald currently holds the Ben Alder
Chair of Celtic Studies at Saint Francis Xavier University in
Nova Scotia, Canada. Jamie was raised in North Carolina, his
ancestors having arrived there in 1802 from the Isle of Skye in
Scotland. There was great interest in his family in its
Scottish heritage and he grew up steeped in Scottish culture.
He obtained his Ph.D. in Scottish Studies at the University of
Edinburgh in 1993. Jamie is a fluent Gaelic speaker and enjoys
singing and collecting Gaelic songs.
He has been a
Program Advisor for Gaelic television projects for BBC Scotland
and Grampian Television and has published a Gaelic dictionary
for children. He was instrumental in the founding of the United
States Mòd, the North Carolina Mòd, and the
Grandfather Mountain Gaelic Song Week. Jamie has taught Gaelic,
Gaelic song and Scottish Studies at seminars and workshops
throughout the United States and in Scotland and Canada as
well.
|
|
|
Fiona MacKenzie a native of Morayshire and graduate
of Aberdeen University, now living in Dingwall, learned Gaelic
as an adult and is now employed as the Màiri Mhór
Gaelic Song Fellow for Highland Council, a post designed to
promote and develop the participation in Gaelic Singing
throughout Scotland further afield. She acts as a first point
of reference for anyone in the world who requires information
on any aspect of Gaelic Song. She won the Silver Pendant
competition at the National Mod in 1996, the Oban Times Gold
Medal in 2003, and won the highly prestigious An Comunn
Gàidhealach Gold Medal for Solo Singing at the National
Mòd in Stornoway in October 2005. Her travels during the
tenure of the Fellowship have so far taken her to deliver song
lectures in Cape Breton, America, Estonia, Ireland, and
Germany. 2006 will see her traveling to New York in April to
represent Scotland at Tartan Week and also to Washington in
September as guest of An Comunn Gàidhealach, America. In
December 2004, Fiona was named as the BBC Scotland Traditional
Music Personality of the Year for the work she carries out with
young people and in December 2005 she was nominated for Gaelic
Singer of the Year.
She spends much of her time working
with young people and creating opportunities for them to get
involved in singing activities. She manages a Youth Vocal
Harmony Group called "Fionnar" which is Gaelic for
"Cool" or "Fresh" and the group has to date
represented Scotland in Ireland and Wales. She also spends much
time teaching Gaelic Song in schools and with Community groups.
Fiona hosts a Gaelic music show entitled "The Kitchen
Ceilidh" on Scottish Internet Radio and regularly has many
e-mails from listeners all over the world, in particular from
America. The website address is http://www.internetradio.co.uk.
She is presently working on the publication of a new collection
of Gaelic songs based on old pipe tunes, entitled "The
Crunluath Collection", the songs have been written by a
local Gaelic writer. 2005 saw the publication of "Orain
nan Rosach", the first collection of Gaelic Songs from
Ross-shire and 2006 will see the production of the follow up
CD. She currently has 2 CDs to her name, "Astair",
and "Seinn oho ro Seinn"--a Gaelic song teaching
resource. Her two sons, Kenneth (17) and Euan (14) are both
fluent Gaelic speakers having come through Gaelic medium
education in Dingwall and her daughter Katie, 20, is studying
Gaelic Song and Clàrsach at the Royal Scottish Academy
of Music and Drama in Glasgow. Husband Donald can occasionally
also be persuaded to give a rendition of a good rowing song or
two!! The 2 collies, Breac and Brahan have so far not ventured
onto stage!
|
|
|
Catriona NicIomhair Parsons is a native of the Isle
of Lewis in Scotland. After attending high school at the
Nicholson Institute, she received her degree in Linguistics at
Edinburgh University. Soon after she graduated, she married
Bill Parsons, a ministry student from Roanoke, Virginia and
immigrated to the U.S. in 1963. The next year she and her
husband lived in Columbia, South Carolina, where she taught
English in a high school there. They later moved to Virginia,
when she first taught high school and then English and
Linguistics at James Madison University. After going back to
Scotland for a few years for her husband to finish his PhD,
Catriona returned to the US--this time to New England,
eventually ending up in New Hampshire, where she taught English
and Linguistics at Dartmouth College. Catrìona began
teaching summer school Gaelic classes at the Gaelic College of
Arts and Crafts in St. Ann’s Nova Scotia in 1978. While there
she produced her noteworthy Gaelic learning course Gàidhlig
Troimh Chòmhradh. In 1993, she accepted a teaching post
in the Celtic Department at St. Francis Xavier University in
Antigonish, Nova Scotia, where she has been ever since.
Professor Parsons was instrumental in the founding of ACGA’s
National Mòd now held in Pennsylvania and she has served
as judge for that mòd on numerous occasions. She is an
expert on both Gaelic Language and Song and her knowledge and
skills will be an important addition to our course this year.
This will not be her first visit to Banner Elk. In
1985, Catrìona taught a week-long Gaelic course at
Lees-McRae College in conjunction with the Grandfather Mountain
Highland Games.
|
|
|
|
Cìsean [Fees]
|
|
The workshop is housed at
Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, North Carolina. Tuition, room,
and board for the Grandfather Mountain workshop in 2006 will be
$425 for ACGA members and $450 for non-members. There will be a
$20 discount if final payment is postmarked by May 15.
Click
here for the American Registration Form
Click
here for the Canadian Registration Form.
|
Cuid Oidhche [Room and Meals]
|
|
Rooms and meals are provided by
Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, North Carolina, where the week
will be held. 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. Meals
provided are from Sunday evening dinner through Friday lunch.
Accommodations and food for the workshop begin with dinner on
Sunday, July 2,2006, and end with lunch on Friday, July 7.
Participants will be staying in Virginia Hall.
Further meals and additional dorm
room nights are available for a reasonable charge from the college
for those staying for the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.
|
Clàr-Ùine [Schedule]
|
|
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. Many opportunities are available for recreation
during free time during the afternoon and in the evenings,
including optional special interest classes, hiking, swimming,
fishing and tennis and watching Gaelic videos.
|
Siubhal [Travel]
|
|
If you will be flying the nearest
airports are Tri-Cities, TN and Charlotte, NC. Take a look at the
Town of Banner Elk Web site.
Directions to Lees-McRae
College in Banner Elk, NC, from Johnson City, TN, and the
Tri-Cities Airport area:
Take 321 northeast from
Johnson City to Elizabethton. From Elizabethton continue east on
19E across the state line to Elk Park, NC. At Elk Park go left on
194 to Banner Elk. As you come to the top of the hill and enter
Banner Elk, Lees-McRae College is on your right. Total driving
time from Johnson City is about one hour. See *** below for
directions to help with finding the dorm.
Directions to
Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, NC, from Charlotte, NC and the
Charlotte Douglas International airport:
NOTE: These directions are not the
same as Mapquest or Yahoo! but are better suited to those not
familiar with mountain driving.
Directions to Lees-McRae
College from Charlotte airport:
When you come out of the
airport, head for Interstate 85 NORTH. Interstate 85 N will soon
junction with Interstate 77.
· 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 & 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.
From Rte. 421 in Boone, NC:
Take Rte
105 South approximately 15 miles and turn right at the stoplight
onto Rte 184 (Tynecastle Hwy.) Stay on Rte 184 until it ends at
Rte 194. Take a left. Lees McRae College is on the left. See ***
below for directions to help with finding the dorm.
From
Rte. 221 in Linville, NC:
Take Rte 105 North and turn
left at the stoplight onto Rte 184 (Tynecastle Hwy.) Stay on Rte
184 until it ends at Rte 194. Take a left. Lees McRae College is
on the left. See *** below for directions to help with finding the
dorm.
* * *Banner Elk is a small town and you should
have no trouble finding the college and the dorm. For those who
feel more comfortable with explicit directions, these are
step-by-step directions for finding your way. Pass the Student
Commons, then Hayes Auditorium, and then a small parking lot--all
on the left. (There’s a larger parking lot on the right also.)
Take the next left and go up a small hill to the stop sign (the
Historic Rock House will be on your right.) Take a left. Virginia
Hall is on your right. It is an old stone building with a porch
between the two arms of the dorm. It is next to the Tufts Chimes
Tower and across the street from the campus store. After you
unload your belongings, you will need to return to one of the
parking lots that you passed on your way in. You may not park
either behind the dorm or beside it unless you have a handicapped
sticker.
|
Roimh-innse na sìde [Weather Forecast]
|
|
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.
|
Thoir [Bring]
|
|
Dorm Room Items:
Personal Items:
-
Casual clothing for both cool weather and warm (see the
weather section)
-
Walking or hiking shoes
-
Swimsuit or fishing equipment
-
Raincoat
-
Camera
-
Flash light (needed for the Opening Ceremonies of the
Games)
-
Phone for your room and a long distance telephone card.
You will have your own private line, but you must provide your
own phone.
-
Lap top computer, if you wish
to use one during the week. College provides a modem
line in every room. You must provide your own
cables/cords/apparati for connection to the Internet.
Classroom items:
Other items:
-
Props for cèilidh
-
Musical instruments
-
Items to donate for Silent auction
-
Cash or checkbook for Silent auction—great bargains!
-
Dancing shoes if you are a dancer and would like to attend
any of the evenings of social dancing at the Thistle School of
Scottish Country Dance $5.00 per night.
-
Gaelic Language videos to
share with the group at night (examples of videos watched in the
past are An Ceasnachadh & The Blood is Strong)
|
|
