Latest news with #Louisbourg
CTV News
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Cape Breton comedy stars team up for new TV series
Two of Cape Breton's favourite comedy queens are sharing the screen in a brand-new series. Bette MacDonald and Justine Williamson co-star in Star Maker Academy, which follows Doreen and Charmaine, who run a questionable acting school in a tiny seaside village. 'The name itself is very grand. The idea is very grand. However, they don't know how to teach acting - they know very little about it, actually,' said MacDonald in an interview with CTV Atlantic's Katie Kelly. 'So, you know, things don't always go to plan.' Williamson, best known as one half of the popular Cape Breton comedy duo Tracy and Martina, says the show was a chance to step outside her comfort zone. 'I think I had a bit of imposter syndrome going into it, because I've never done another role outside of Tracy,' said Williamson. 'But it was good to explore another character, and it was really fun - a growth moment for me.' MacDonald says working with Williamson was a perfect fit. 'How lucky were we to get Justine? That was perfect.' 'She's definitely stepping out of Tracy's thigh-high boots to play this one - and we've been having a blast. I love working with her.' And the feeling is mutual. 'She's such a professional,' Williamson said. 'Sometimes at the end of takes we would riff a little bit and improvise, which was really fun. It's a really funny show with excellent writing.' The series was shot at the historic Louisbourg Playhouse - a dream come true for the two comedians. 'The best news is we got to make it in Cape Breton,' MacDonald said. 'It seems like the Playhouse was absolutely made for this show. It's perfect.' Fans can now catch Season One of Star Maker Academy on Bell Fibe TV1. And if you ask the duo, the mission is simple: 'The number one rule for this show was to make it as funny as possible,' said MacDonald. 'So hopefully they will laugh a lot.'
CBC
21-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Mi'kmaw elder leads sunrise ceremony on National Indigenous Peoples Day
About 40 people gathered at the break of dawn Saturday near Louisbourg, N.S., for a Mi'kmaw sunrise ceremony led by Eskasoni First Nation Elder Lottie Johnson. The CBC's Anna Rak has the story.
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Mi'kmaw sunrise ceremony near Louisbourg starts National Indigenous Peoples Day
About 40 people gathered at the break of dawn Saturday along the Atlantic coast near Louisbourg, N.S., for a Mi'kmaw sunrise ceremony to kick off National Indigenous Peoples Day. The ceremony was led by Eskasoni First Nation Elder Lottie Johnson, who said it's meant for all people to share. But as a residential school survivor, Johnson said the ceremony holds extra meaning for her. "It's a very special time. It's quiet and as the sun comes up, you see the creation of [the] creator. Everything is so beautiful and it's like almost-new again. That's where you get the hope and the will to go on." Johnson regularly conducts the sunrise ceremony and said dawn is a good time to connect with the Earth and to pray. National Indigenous Peoples Day did not exist when she went to the residential school in Shubenacadie, but June 21 and the summer solstice hold special meaning for many of those who went. "June 21 was Freedom Day, what they called it," she said. "That was the day you get to go home for the summer. But not all of the kids went home. Some of them had no places to go, so they stayed." The sunrise ceremony, which is sacred and cannot be recorded, was organized by Allison Bernard Memorial High School teacher Jonathan Cox, along with other members of his union, the Public Service Alliance of Canada. He said holding the ceremony at Louisbourg is an important part of reconciliation, honouring the original inhabitants of what is now Canada. "It's not just a checkbox. It's something we need to do — all the settlers, colonizers, Mi'kmaq, non-Mi'kmaq, visitors." The union's first sunrise ceremony was held last year in a clearing by a look-off not far from the historic Louisbourg lighthouse, which was being refurbished at the time. The beacon is on the site of the first lighthouse in Canada, lit in 1734 by the French at the entrance to the harbour across from what is now the Fortress of Louisbourg. Now that the work on the existing structure has finished, the sunrise ceremony was held east of the lighthouse on a small cape looking out over the cold North Atlantic Ocean. Before dawn, it was windy and cold, with the ceremony conducted in a huddle using a couple of large vehicles as windbreaks. Not long after the ceremony, the clouds broke up and the sun came out. Cox said despite the cold, everything was as it should be. The Mi'kmaq are known as the People of the Dawn and they call Cape Breton Island Unama'ki, the Land of Fog. "It is a perfect way to start this day," he said. "This should be a national holiday, but we'll start with ceremonies like this, so that people can celebrate heritage." "I don't think there's a better place anywhere, period, to see the sun come up." MORE TOP STORIES
CBC
21-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Mi'kmaw sunrise ceremony near Louisbourg starts National Indigenous Peoples Day
About 40 people gathered at the break of dawn Saturday along the Atlantic coast near Louisbourg, N.S., for a Mi'kmaw sunrise ceremony to kick off National Indigenous Peoples Day. The ceremony was led by Eskasoni First Nation Elder Lottie Johnson, who said it's meant for all people to share. But as a residential school survivor, Johnson said the ceremony holds extra meaning for her. "It's a very special time. It's quiet and as the sun comes up, you see the creation of [the] creator. Everything is so beautiful and it's like almost-new again. That's where you get the hope and the will to go on." Johnson regularly conducts the sunrise ceremony and said dawn is a good time to connect with the Earth and to pray. National Indigenous Peoples Day did not exist when she went to the residential school in Shubenacadie, but June 21 and the summer solstice hold special meaning for many of those who went. "June 21 was Freedom Day, what they called it," she said. "That was the day you get to go home for the summer. But not all of the kids went home. Some of them had no places to go, so they stayed." The sunrise ceremony, which is sacred and cannot be recorded, was organized by Allison Bernard Memorial High School teacher Jonathan Cox, along with other members of his union, the Public Service Alliance of Canada. He said holding the ceremony at Louisbourg is an important part of reconciliation, honouring the original inhabitants of what is now Canada. "It's not just a checkbox. It's something we need to do — all the settlers, colonizers, Mi'kmaq, non-Mi'kmaq, visitors." The union's first sunrise ceremony was held last year in a clearing by a look-off not far from the historic Louisbourg lighthouse, which was being refurbished at the time. The beacon is on the site of the first lighthouse in Canada, lit in 1734 by the French at the entrance to the harbour across from what is now the Fortress of Louisbourg. Now that the work on the existing structure has finished, the sunrise ceremony was held east of the lighthouse on a small cape looking out over the cold North Atlantic Ocean. Before dawn, it was windy and cold, with the ceremony conducted in a huddle using a couple of large vehicles as windbreaks. Not long after the ceremony, the clouds broke up and the sun came out. Cox said despite the cold, everything was as it should be. The Mi'kmaq are known as the People of the Dawn and they call Cape Breton Island Unama'ki, the Land of Fog. "It is a perfect way to start this day," he said. "This should be a national holiday, but we'll start with ceremonies like this, so that people can celebrate heritage." "I don't think there's a better place anywhere, period, to see the sun come up."
