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Celtic culture celebrated at annual Almonte, Ont. festival

CTV News

06-07-2025

Entertainment
CTV News

Celtic culture celebrated at annual Almonte, Ont. festival

Celtic culture was celebrated this weekend in the Ottawa Valley at Almonte Celtfest. Celtfest co-chair Macayla Moore says the festival showcases local Irish, Scottish, francophone and Anishnaabe culture and history. She says it's a chance to celebrate the traditions that run deep in the region. 'It's kind of just about the connection,' she said. 'The whole event is also about bringing the community together and heritage.' Moore says the event has been going on for 29 years. It is expected to draw thousands throughout the three-day event. Olivia Faria and her sister, who are performing Ottawa Valley step dancing on Sunday, say they were inspired to take it up after seeing it for the first time. 'We were really passionate about it,' she said. The 13-year-old from Brampton says the tradition dates back to the 1800s, combining Scottish, Irish and Métis dance and fiddle playing. Performing in front of a crowd for the first time is a big moment for her. 'I hope one day I see a young kid, want to pick up the fiddle and step dance and say, 'I got inspired by you,'' she said. Moore says this year, there's a focus on inspiring the next generation with a youth showcase on the main stage. 'Now that a lot of us have young kids too, we really want to pass on the heritage and the just the event, the local spirit,' she said. The event wraps up Sunday, with the last performance scheduled for 5 p.m.

‘Go to any reasonably sized town in Japan and you'll find an Irish pub': The Japanese fans of Irish culture

Irish Times

03-07-2025

Entertainment
Irish Times

‘Go to any reasonably sized town in Japan and you'll find an Irish pub': The Japanese fans of Irish culture

It was not yet 8pm on a weekday evening but Publion, a small, upstairs bar down a side street near Tokyo 's Shimokitazawa station, was already almost full. Most of the patrons were carrying musical instruments: fiddles, tin whistles, uilleann pipes, bodhráns and a harp and by the time the music started there were about 20 of them. This was a traditional Irish music session, one of many held every week in pubs around Tokyo, and every one of the musicians was Japanese. Most were young and many were university students who belonged to Celtic clubs where they discovered Irish culture. Few had visited Ireland. 'I think there are people who really are interested in foreign cultures. And once they like it, they really want to master it. That's very strong in Japan especially,' said Rieko Yamashita, chair of Comhaltas Japan. READ MORE Rieko Yamashita, chair of Comhaltas Japan Photograph: Denis Staunton/The Irish Times Comhaltas opened a branch in Japan in 1991, its first in Asia, starting tin whistle classes and set dancing lessons the same year. Comhaltas Japan holds a Féile every year and there are regular classes in dancing, sean-nós singing and various musical instruments. 'Riverdance came over to Japan several times and that boosted the popularity of dancing. People were fascinated by the dancing style and wanted to learn dancing as well,' Yamashita said. Yutaka Ohashi at a traditional Irish music session in Publion in Tokyo. Photograph: Denis Staunton/The Irish Times Yutaka Ohashi had been playing the fiddle and the mandolin in bluegrass bands for 30 years before he discovered Irish music, adding the button accordion to his range of instruments. He was so taken with the music that he travelled to Ireland for the Willie Clancy Summer School in Milltown Malbay, Co Clare and at the age of 70 he plays in sessions about three times a week. 'To play bluegrass music I needed to be part of a band. But my work was very hard and I didn't have the time to practise with a band. With the Irish session, if I have a time I can go and play,' he said. 'Whenever I go to an Irish music session, I can find a friend.' A traditional Irish music session at Publion near Tokyo's Shimokitazawa Station. Photograph: Denis Staunton/ The Irish Times Doire Myler chairs the Irish Network Japan which organises the annual St Patrick's Day parade in Tokyo. The parade attracts thousands as it moves along Omotesando, a tree-lined shopping street known as Tokyo's Champs-Élysées where no other foreign national celebration is allowed every year. 'In terms of people marching, there are 30 or more groups from different areas and they're very diverse. Some of the universities here send their cheerleading squads or marching bands and then we have a lot of smaller Irish groups, U2 enthusiasts or Irish setters,' he said. Like Comhaltas Japan, the St Patrick's Day parade is almost entirely Japanese and Myler is one of only two Irish people on the 12-strong organising committee. Their interest in Ireland and its culture comes from different directions. 'I think probably a lot of it, if I was honest, is probably going back to the soccer World Cup back in 2002 and the springing up of Irish pubs all across the country. So you can go to any reasonably sized town in Japan and you'll find an Irish pub and basically the genesis was around then,' he said. 'A lot of the real awareness of Ireland's existence came with that but you have other things. Enya was huge here and that kind of Celtic music groups that come here fairly regularly. Gilbert O'Sullivan was very popular here. He still toured here up until recently, I believe. So you have these kind of outlier interests.' Myler believes that the formal nature of Japanese social relations makes the informality and ease of contact in an Irish pub all the more attractive. And Ireland's standing received a further boost when Japan hosted the Rugby World Cup in 2019. 'I've never seen anything like it, it was a wave of green. And there was great love for the Irish because there was a particular video when Japan had beaten South Africa previously and for the Irish fans this was David versus Goliath and their celebrations became viral here. So everyone thought the Irish love the Japanese and that goes vice versa,' he said. 'So when the Rugby World Cup came, we were like comrades. And then of course they beat us, which was also a big upset and I think they loved us all the more for that.'

Torrey Craig is open to returning to Boston Celtics if opportunity is there

Yahoo

31-05-2025

Business
Yahoo

Torrey Craig is open to returning to Boston Celtics if opportunity is there

After coming over after being waived during the season by the Chicago Bulls, veteran forward Torrey Craig is looking to return to the Boston Celtics for the 2025-26 season. Appearing in just nine games for the Chicago Bulls this past season, Craig was signed by Boston in February and while he didn't offer up a ton of production, he was a quality three-and-d contributor off the bench for head coach Joe Mazzulla. Facing potential changes coming to the roster in wake of the Jayson Tatum's torn Achilles injury, the 34-year old Craig has expressed interest in returning to Boston for next season. Shortly after they were eliminated by the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Craig spoke with and said he'd like to be back if the interest is mutual, and feels that the team can still contend even with the Tatum injury. May 16, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Boston Celtics forward Torrey Craig (12) and head coach Joe Mazzulla react during the fourth quarter of game six in the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images "I love everything about Boston,' Craig said. 'If it was available, then I would see myself coming back. Just being around the guys that previously won the championship – just seeing how they operate, how together they were, just being a part of the Celtic culture. That was a cool experience for me." (H/T Advertisement Although he only averaged just over 2 points and 2 rebounds per game in 17 games played with Boston, Craig is a respected veteran presence on the team and would bring more bench stability next season. If the Celtics have to change up their starting lineup in a major way, keeping as much of the bench together as possible could be another key to staying a contender. Watch the "Taylor Talks Celtics" podcast on: YouTube: Substack: This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Torrey Craig is open to returning to Boston Celtics next season