Celtic Colours International Festival

06/12/2026

30 Years • 30 Memories

2020 • Memory #24
Beòlach - Mac Morin [piano], Wendy MacIsaac [fiddle], and Mairi Rankin [fiddle] with Boyd MacNeil on guitar and Kenneth MacKenzie on pipes.

Photo by Corey Katz

06/10/2026

Congratulations to our Festival Co-Founder Joella Foulds on this richly deserved honour! 🎉 Joella's leadership and extraordinary dedication to musicians, community, and culture on both sides of the Atlantic have left a mark that will be felt for generations. 💕

🌟 We're thrilled to introduce our first 2026 Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame Services to Community inductee: Joella Foulds!

Joella is the visionary co-founder of the Celtic Colours International Festival in Cape Breton — a remarkable event that has spent decades building creative bridges between Scottish and Cape Breton traditional music, transforming opportunities for musicians on both sides of the Atlantic.

In a testament to her extraordinary passion and commitment, Joella returned as Artistic Director of Celtic Colours aged 81 for the 2025 festival — which then went on to win Event of the Year at the East Coast Music Awards. Truly inspiring.

Read more about Joella's incredible contribution to traditional music: https://projects.handsupfortrad.scot/hall-of-fame/joella-foulds-2/

06/09/2026

30 Years • 30 Memories

2019 • Memory #23
[front] Mary Jane Lamond, Sarah MacInnis, Ella Dubinsky, Beth MacCormick, Jordan Musycyn, Stewart MacNeil, [back] Sheumas MacNeil, Kyle MacNeil, Kimberley Fraser, and Rosie MacKenzie, during a very special mentorship concert called "Playing it by Ear" at Greenwood United Church in Baddeck.

Photo by Corey Katz

06/05/2026

30 Years • 30 Memories

2018 • Memory #22
Inspired by a journey Irish musician Breanndán Ó Beaglaoich took in 2017, "Voice of the Naomhòg"gathered together a group of artists and musicians from Ireland, Scotland, Cape Breton Island and mainland Nova Scotia to make a traditional Irish rowboat. While it was being made, with the assistance of Mi'kmaw craftspeople, new Gaelic music and dance was being created to be performed in two concerts, with the artists travelling from one venue to the next in the Naomhógs they made. One of the Naomhógs was on display at Centre 200 during "The Grand Finale".

Photo by Corey Katz

06/03/2026

30 Years • 30 Memories

2017 • Memory #21
After a week shacked up together writing songs for the Songhouse Project, Lynn Miles, Bruce Guthro, Catherine MacLellan, James Keelaghan, Cara Luft, and J.D. Edwards [The Small Glories], take to the stage at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Sydney River to share their work in the aptly-named concert "Songs from Scratch".

Photo by Corey Katz

06/01/2026

30 Years • 30 Memories

2016 • Memory #20
Jon Pilatzke [Carlos Núñez Band] leads singers Margaret MacPherson, Sarah MacInnis, and a crowd from the audience in a dance around the stage for the finale of "Forever in Our Hearts".

Photo by Corey Katz

05/29/2026

30 Years • 30 Memories

2015 • Memory #19
Laura Smith during the concert "The Hills are Alive" in the Cape Breton Highlands at Ingonish.

Photo by Neil Gascoyne

05/26/2026

30 Years • 30 Memories

2014 • Memory #18
Ashley MacIsaac with his favourite piano accompanist Maybelle Chisholm McQueen during the tribute to Maybelle, "Pure Celtic Heart", at the Cape Breton Highlands Academy in Belle Côte.

Photo by Corey Katz

05/25/2026

Celtic Colours International Festival has been named Event of the Year at the 2026 ECMA Industry Awards. 🏆

We are beyond proud, and we know exactly who this belongs to...

To our staff, volunteers, artists, community groups, board of directors, and everyone, from here and afar, who joins us each October: this is your award. You are the reason Celtic Colours exists, and the reason it keeps getting better.

Huge congratulations to the East Coast Music Association on a spectacular ECMA 2026 here in Sydney, and to all the winners and nominees recognized this week. What a community to be part of. 🎻

05/22/2026

30 Years • 30 Memories

2013 • Memory #17
Boyd, Stewart, Kyle, and Sheumas of The Barra MacNeils during the opening concert "North Atlantic Neighbours" at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre.

Photo by Corey Katz