MOHAWK VALLEY IRISH CULTURAL Volume 16, Issue 1 EVENTS NEWSLETTER Jan 2019 Burns Suppers No, that’s not a summary of my cooking. Well, okay, maybe just a little. But the real “Burns Suppers” remember the life and genius of “Scotland greatest treasure,” poet Robert Burns. Burns was born on 25 January 1759, and since not long after his death on 21 July 1796, Burns enthusiasts around the world have been holding celebratory dinners each year on or around his birth date. Burns suppers may be formal or informal. Both typically include haggis (a traditional Scottish dish celebrated by Burns in Address to a Haggis), Scotch whisky, and the recitation of Burns’ poetry. Two such events are being held in the (fairly) local area. First, Cazenovia’s Brae Loch Inn holds their annual Robert Burns Weekend from January 25-27, with the Weekend Kickoff on Friday from 7 PM to 2 AM, featuring complimentary hors d’oeuvres, scotch tasting and music by Tumbleweed Gumbo. Saturday will feature a formal seven-course meal to include Cock O Leekie Soup, Finnan Haddie (smoked haddock), Steak & Kidney Pie, Salad, Haggis, sliced tenderloin & house smoked Salmon, with vegetables and Neeps & Tatties (rutabagas and mashed potatoes – oh, and be more careful than I was typing that into a search engine!) and Sticky Toffee Pudding, beginning at 7 PM; cocktail hour begins at 6 PM. Entertainment will be provided throughout the night by The Grey Barr Memorial Pipe Band, Bells & Motley, Irish Step Dancing, Highland Dancing and Singing Poetry. The cost is $70. Finally, on Sunday, make plans to enjoy their Celtic Hangover Brunch (11 AM to 2 PM), with Scotch Eggs, Finnan Haddie, Shepard’s Pie, and music by 10 Strings. For more info, click here. Meanwhile, Albany’s Capital District Celtic Cultural Association will be holding its annual Burns Dinner on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019. Doors open at 5:30 PM, with drinks, pipers and a set of music from the Brigadoons. From there, the obligatory reading of “Address to the Haggis,” followed by dinner, performances by pipers, Highland Dancers, dessert and coffee, and another set by the Brigadoons. Tickets – which last year sold out in early January -- are $50 per person and $450 for a table of 10 (click here for tickets). For more information, call (518) 250-5719. Celtic Hall is located at 430 New Karner Rd, Albany. 2019 St. Patrick’s Day Parade Accepting Nominations for Grand Marshal The Great American Irish Festival is seeking nominations for the Grand Marshal of the 2019 St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The nominee, male or female, need not be of Irish descent, but should be someone recognized by the community for his/her commitment and contributions to the Irish in the Central New York area. The letter of nomination should include the individual’s background and a list of qualifications as to why he or she would be the proper choice to receive the shillelagh from the 2018 Grand Marshal, Judy Weeks. In addition to leading the St. Patrick’s Day parade, the Parade Grand Marshal also serves as honorary chairperson of the 2019 Great American Irish Festival, slated for 26-28 July, at the Herkimer County Fairgrounds in Frankfort, NY. Nominations can be submitted online or by mail to Great American Irish Festival, Attn: David Wood, 623 Columbia Street, Utica, NY, 13502. Nominations are due by January 6, 2019. Mohawk Valley Irish Cultural Events - 1 Halfway to GAIF Hooley Set for January 25th The annual Halfway to the Great American Irish Festival Hooley will be held on Friday, January 25th, 2019 from 6 to 10 PM at the Saranac Brewery (830 Varick St., Utica). Since its inception in 2006, the very popular party has provided a much- needed respite from the winter doldrums, with great music, food and drink, and a chance to see what hundreds of GAIF volunteers look like in their winter clothes. The Hooley is the festival’s way of saying “thank you” to the hundreds of tireless volunteers who helped make the Great American Irish Festival the fastest growing Irish festival in the land, and has become the forum for presenting the performance lineup for the upcoming festival, as well as the announcement of the board’s selection for the Utica St. Patrick’s Day Parade Grand Marshal. The event includes food, beer specials (cash bar), 50/50 and basket raffles, and the best craic in town. Entertainment will be provided by The Stoutmen. Tickets are just $15 each and can be purchased at the door. There’s a Gaelic Storm Brewing! On Thursday, January 24th, the genre-bending Gaelic Storm makes a return to the area with a very special 8 PM show at the historic Smith Opera House in Geneva. With a career that began as a pub band, through their appearance as a Third Class party band (“third class” is a location, not a rating!) and now to the present, they’ve topped the Billboard World Chart six times and regularly headline the largest Irish Festivals across the country. While Gaelic Storm plays Celtic music that hearkens back to the traditional music of Ireland, they are hardly traditionalists, adding modern sounds and drawing influences from American rock and pop as well as music styles from around the world (my favorite quote describes them as “…nicely out of sync with the norm”). This show supports their latest CD, “Go Climb a Tree,” which features Patrick Murphy and Steve Twigger at their song-writing best, gluing all the tracks together with the spark and spirit of a band that’s spent over 20 years on the road. Tickets for the show range from $22 to $32, and are available in person at the box office, or by calling (315) 781- 5483, or by going on-line. The Smith Opera House is located at 82 Seneca St. in Geneva, NY. Enter the Haggis Returns to the Egg Toronto’s Enter the Haggis helps kick off the new year in style, with a return trip to the Egg on January 4th. Since their beginnings as a Canadian bar band over 20 years ago, ETH has led the charge among Celtic folk/roots/rock bands, delighting fans with their memorable performances, inspired songwriting, musical proficiency and high- quality recordings, including 4 EPs, 9 studio albums, five live and one compilation CDs, as well as two solo side projects. In addition to playing their fan favorite signature tunes, they’ll be performing cuts off their latest CD, “Broken Arms,” as well as a new CD, due for an early 2019 release. Opening the 8 PM show is the band Skerryvore… and you heard it here first: watch out for this band! Twice winners of Scotland’s Traditional Music “Live Act of the Year” Award (2016 & 2011), this 8-piece band has been on a meteoric rise in the past year with their unique fusion of Celtic, folk, trad, rock and Americana sounds. Tickets for the show are $34, and are available on-line. Mohawk Valley Irish Cultural Events - 2 th 7 Annual Falling Waters Music Camp (stolen from their web site with 75% reverence and 25% laziness) Join us for the 7th annual Falling Waters Music Camp on January 11 - 13, 2019 - a fun and inspiring weekend of instruction, jamming and performance located at the beautiful La Tourelle resort in Ithaca, NY. Classes and performances will be led by a great group of instructor-performers. Falling Waters faculty for 2019 include fiddlers Winifred Horan (Irish), Shane Cook (Ontario, Bluegrass & Swing), Judy Hyman (Old Time), Rosie Newton (Old Time), Tim Ball (Irish, Contra, Technique) and Rick Manning (Bluegrass & Swing); bassist Ethan Jodziewicz, mandolinists Joe Walsh (Bluegrass & All Styles), David Surette (Celtic & Contradance) & Rick Manning (Bluegrass); Guitarists Grant Gordy (Bluegrass & Swing), Kyle Waymouth (Ontario & Celtic), David Surette (Celtic & Contradance), Joe Crookston (Folk) & Susie Burke (Folk) & Tim Ball (Celtic & Contradance); Banjoists Adam Hurt (Old Time), Ben Krakauer (Bluegrass), Richie Stearns (Old Time) and Aaron Lipp (Old Time) and Paul Fairbanks (Bluegrass & Theory); vocalists Susie Burke (Folk and Technique), Dave Davies (improv, bass harmony, swing band), and Joe Crookston (Folk). Instruction will be offered on fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo, bass, singing, band, and rhythm & dance at advanced beginner, intermediate and advanced levels in a variety of styles that include Irish, old-time, bluegrass, swing, contradance, and folk. Jamming is a fun and important part of the weekend – some impromptu throughout the day and night along with many structured jam sessions to cater to your stylistic interest and experience level. For more information, contact Rick Manning, Camp Director, at [email protected], or call (607) 592- 4647. Ticket information is available here. Speak for Yourself – contributed by Tomás Maol O'Meallaigh (Tom Malley) So you’re planning a trip to Ireland and you want to show how friendly we Americans are by saying “hello” to the first person you meet, in his/her own native language? Don’t bother: There is no Irish equivalent of “hello.” The usual greeting is “Go mbeannai Dia duit,” pronounced “guh manny jee-uh ditch,” which means “The blessing of God on you.” Most of the time it is shortened to “Dia duit.” The Irish always have to go one better, so the usual response is “Dia is Muire duit” (“the blessing of God and Mary on you”). You can cut it off there, or you could try “How are you?” There are three dialects in Irish, and each has its own way of saying “How are you?” The most common is Connaght (the West), which is “Conas ta tu?” (pronounced “con-us taw tu”).