ACGA, the
Gaelic Society of North America, will be combing two of its
annual Gaelic events this year to mark the 10th
annual ACGA Gaelic Immersion Course and the golden (50th)
anniversary of the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. For
just this year, the Gaelic Immersion Weekend will take place
in conjunction with the Grandfather Mountain Gaelic Language
and Song Week.
Originally
founded in the Washington, DC area
in the 1980s, An Comunn
Gaidhealach
America has grown to include members from all over the
United States and Canada. In fact, its
most successful Immersion Weekend so far was held in Toronto
in 2004. The combined Gaelic event this year will be held at
Lees-McRae College, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North
Carolina near Grandfather Mountain. The fun will take place on
2nd -7th July
2006, the week prior to the Highland Games there.
The week will
include three levels of Gaelic song and five levels of Gaelic
language instruction. This will be augmented by Gaelic
conversation groups and special interest sessions. For those
who love the great outdoors, there will be organized hikes
every afternoon. The line up of teachers this year includes
some of the world's leading experts on Gaelic and Gaelic song.
Kenna
Campbell and Fiona MacKenzie will be our main Gaelic song
teachers during the week. Kenna is
a native of the Isle of Skye and has been principal tutor in
Gaelic song at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
since the inception of the degree course in Scottish Music.
Fiona holds the Màiri
Mhór Gaelic Song Fellowship for
Highland Council, a post designed to promote and develop the
participation in Gaelic Singing throughout Scotland and
further afield. Both
Kenna and Fiona are holders of the
most prestigious award in Gaelic singing - the gold medal from
the Scottish National
Mòd
Gaelic language
classes will be taught by Catriona
Parsons and Sorley MacDonald.
Catriona is a native of the Isle
of Lewis and is a professor of Gaelic at
St. Francis Xavier University in Nova
Scotia. She also teaches Gaelic courses in the summer at the
Gaelic College in St. Ann's, Cape Breton.
Sorley MacDonald is a native of the Isle of Skye and
grandson of the great Gaelic poet Sorley
MacLean. He has his MA in Gaelic and History from Glasgow
University and is currently enrolled in Gaelic medium teacher
training at Strathclyde
University.
Dr. Jamie
MacDonald will teach beginner level Gaelic language and song.
Dr. MacDonald is also a professor of Gaelic at
St. Francis Xavier University. Jamie
founded the Grandfather Mountain Gaelic Song and Language Week
in 1999 and this will be its seventh anniversary. He is an
outdoors enthusiast and will be leading the daily hikes into
the surrounding mountains.
The week is
very reasonably priced. For as little as $405, you will
receive a private room, three great meals a day, and plenty of
instruction in Gaelic and Gaelic song. This is not to mention
all the other fun things that go on as well, like
cèilidhs, hikes, camaraderie, and
the Highland Games. As someone once said - this is just like
summer camp for adults! To find out more, contact
Libit
Woodington at
LibitW@aol.com or Cam MacRae at
Cam.MacRae@charter.net. If you have access to the
Internet, then go to the ACGA website at:
http://www.acgamerica.org/events/gfathermtn/2006/gfathermtn2006.html.
If you are not computer minded and would like to call someone
for information, you can contact Libit
at 803-695-0307 or Jamie at 902-867-5426.
