201208 August IMDA

August 1 Irish Music & 2012 Dance Association Lúnasa 30th Year, Issue No. 8 The mission of the Irish Music and Dance Association is to support, coordinate, encourage and promote high quality activities and programs in Irish music, dance, and other cultural traditions within the community and to insure the continuation of those traditions. New Offerings at Irish Fair Inside this issue: Irish Fair has several new things to check out this year: Tune of the Month 2 The overall layout of the festival grounds will be changing in 2012. The new Gaelic Corner 3 Céilíúradh Céim (Celebration Stage) replaces the River Stage and will be located IMDA Grant Winner 7 on the west end of the grounds. The Cultural Area will be moving to a new site along the river, with a new layout for the Triscéil Tea Room and some new exhibits August Calendar 10-11 will provide visitors with background on the contributions of the Irish to Minnesota. Northwoods Songs 16 And the Crossroad Dance Hall and Children’s Area will be also be located along Ceili Corner 18 the river. Smidirini 19 The Atlantic Steps , an international-touring adaptation of the phenomenally successful Irish show Fuaim Chonamara, will be presented on Saturday evening. It tells the epic story of Ireland’s oldest dance form, portrayed through the music, song, dance and energy of the Connemara region. Centered around the joyful dance and unbridled enthusiasm of Brian Cunningham, the show continues to move festival and theatre audiences to their feet, bringing sean-nós dance to its rightful place on the world stage. Tickets will be required for this performance and are available now. The Jameson Pavilion Pub will be offering special food and beverages as well as special activities and entertainment, including music, dancing, wine and beer tastings and trivia contests. The Jameson Pavilion Pub is a ticketed area of the Fair. Tickets/wristbands will be available for purchase at the Fair. These favorite activities will be returning: Irish Fair Kick Off Party: Battle of the Pubs & The Belfast Cowboys on Thursday evening. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door and available on the Irish Fair website ( www.irishfair.com ). Beverages are included in the ticket price. Afternoon Tea in the Triscéil Tea Room in the Cultural Tent on Saturday afternoon from 2 to 5 pm. Celtic Chats an opportunity to chat informally with a knowledgeable resource on a range of topics from writing an Irish novel to the work of Brendan Behan. See the article on the Cultural Area elsewhere in this newsletter for specifics. The special Pub Experience ticket option, with an elevated deck for viewing the Cara Irish Pubs main stage and food and drink included in the ticket price. Check the new Irish Fair website ( www.irishfair.com ) for the full schedule for the Fair and for details on tickets to the special offerings. www.IMDAwww.IMDA----MN.orgMN.org Irish Music & 2 Dance Association The IMDA Board is : Tune of the Month by Amy Shaw President: Lisa Conway Treasurer: Mark Malone The 2012 Minnesota Irish Music Weekend continues to be a great source of Secretary: Jan Casey tunes for this column. This month’s tune was taught during one of the flute Board Members: Suin Swann Ruth McGlynn workshops at MIM by Sean Gavin, a flute player and uilleann piper in two acclaimed bands, Bua and NicGaviskey. Sean has a wonderful ability to Editor: John Burns teach a tune and to explain particular elements of playing style in a practical IMDA Board Meetings are open to the membership. way. I wonder if he learned to do this from his father, Clare fiddler Mick The Board meets regularly on the First Tuesday of each Gavin, who has been performing and teaching in Detroit for many years. In month at 6 pm at Perkins in HarMar. Members are encouraged to any case, it’s easy to see that Sean grew up immersed in the music. He now verify the time and location shortly before, lives in Chicago, where he has gotten to know the great Sligo flute player, as meeting times and locations can change. Kevin Henry, from whom he learned Biddy McGhee. Contact Information Write to: Kevin Henry was born in 1929 near the town of Tubbercurry along the Irish Music and Dance Association Mayo/Sligo border, where you probably couldn’t throw a stone without 236 Norfolk Ave NW Elk River, MN 55330 hitting a musician. There were lots of flute bands and fife and drum bands Call: 612-990-3122 in the area, and consequently lots of flute players. Kevin absorbed the rich E-mail: [email protected] repertoire of local tunes before emigrating to England, then to Canada and New York. He settled in Chicago in the 1950s, where he has been an Newsletter Submissions inspiration to many younger musicians over the years. Kevin’s hearty flute We welcome our readers to submit articles of interest, playing has been described by Irish Times writer Mic Moroney as “an news, and notices of events to be published in the newsletter. eloquent time-capsule style with its own stonking, woofing, internal rhythm The deadline is the 20th of the preceding month. section.” (I had to look up “stonking.” It means amazing, or powerful.) Speaking of Kevin’s 1998 CD, One’s Own Place , which you can get from New Folk Records, Moroney commented that the album “truly burps up the Sligo Coleman country of old.” Besides playing the flute, whistle, and uilleann pipes, Kevin is also a great storyteller, and the album features a number of his recitations. *Usual disclaimers: Any transcription errors are my own. The notation here is not meant to be a substitute for listening. It is simply an aid to learning the tune. www.IMDAwww.IMDA----MN.orgMN.org Irish Music & 3 Dance Association The Gaelic Corner By Will Kenny Even though it is summer, and a blistering one at that would prefer the 'sea cat'-- that is, anything, no matter I haven't seen too many "summer cows" just yet. The how bad -- to that." bó shamraidh , or "summer cow," is actually a "ladybug" or "ladybird beetle." Just to keep things confusing, you can also use cat crainn or "tree cat" to refer to a "squirrel," although Animals get worked into various expressions in you might also be talking about a "pine marten." funny ways in most languages, and the I have to confess that one of my favorite mapping is rarely one-to- animal words in Irish is one of the one. Naturally, Irish has simplest, béar for "bear" (they even its own animal sound the same). The reason this amuses expressions which sound a me is that by moving that accent or bit quaint to English ears. "fada," you get beár, or a "bar," as in a tavern. It is easy to get the accent in the wrong place, One of the odd places where the mapping is good is and sometimes you see interesting things in print as a the "sea cow," another name for the "manatee." In result! After all, when you want to write, Tháinig béar Irish, that is bó mhara, a straightforward translation isteach i mbeár ..., "A bear came into a bar...", it is all of "sea cow." But when you encounter muc mhara , a too easy to get things mixed up, especially if you have "sea pig," you might not realize that refers to a spent too much time inside the beár. (Hopefully, you "porpoise." will never spend any time inside a béar!) And if you spy your porpoise on a windy day, it may If you'll be at the Irish Fair (and who won't?), stop by be racing the capaill bhána, literally, "the white and say "Hi" (or even, " Dia dhuit! "). We'll be in our horses." Not horses at all, they are what we call usual spot right inside the entrance to the grounds, and "whitecaps" on the waves, in English. Another we're happy to answer questions about the language popular water creature is the madra uisce, or the and to share our enthusiasm. We'll also share some "water dog," in other words, an "otter." interesting proverbs, translated from Irish Gaelic, at the Fair on Saturday afternoon, see their schedule for all On dry land, you might look up and see the madra the speakers and entertainment. crainn or "tree dog," that is, a "squirrel." And whether or not you want to live "a dog's life" And if you can't say hello in person, stop by our web probably depends on which language you are site at www.gaelminn.org to see what we are up to. speaking. In English, "It's a dog's life" usually means While you are there, sign up for The Gaelminn that you have a hard, miserable time of it, but Tá saol Gazette , our free monthly e-newsletter. Each month an mhadra bháin agat, "You have the life of the you'll get an e-mail with announcements of our events white dog," means you have a cozy, comfortable life. and activities, along with a couple of tips for studying Irish. While dogs get many an idiom, cats produce many fewer interesting turns of phrase (cat lovers, don't Is teann gach madra ag a dhoras féin blame me, that's just the way the language works!). Every dog is bold in his own doorway But there is a "sea cat," a cat mara. In its simplest -- usage, it refers to an "angelfish." The phrase is also Will used to refer to a great misfortune or "calamity," however: B'fhearr liom an cat mara ná é sin, "I www.IMDAwww.IMDA----MN.orgMN.org Irish Music & 4 Dance Association Storytelling, Seminars and More Add to the Cultural life of Irish Fair Storytellers, speakers and actors will be sharing the Eóin McKiernan Speaker’s Tent at the Fair this year.

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