Crashing a ceilidh

After Montreal, the vacation continued through New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. While we were driving on Prince Edward Island, Cathy noticed a commercial on the radio for a ceilidh. (According to dictionary.com, a ceilidh is "an Irish or Scottish social gathering with traditional music, dancing, and storytelling." By the way, the "dh" is silent.) We thought this would be a good chance to experience some east coast culture, hear music, dance, and that sort of thing.

So we arrived at the Benevolent Irish Society hall that evening and found a room full of middle aged and elderly people sitting in chairs listening to a live Celtic band. The music was good and the hall was packed, but it really wasn't what we expected. Nobody was dancing (for one thing there wasn't room), and there was a lack of people our age.

We sat and listened for a while, and then we noticed that Nick was asleep. (He said he can't really just sit and listen to live music, no matter how good it is.) We figured we wouldn't stay until the end. Then Cathy suggested that we go and dance in the parking lot. I have to admit I dragged my feet a bit, but it was a good idea. We figured out that a polka step seemed to work with the song, so we danced. Then we got our other friends. Nick told the ticket guy what was going on and asked if they could teach us a dance. So a few people came outside to teach us a folk dance. After we sort of got the basics, they asked the band to play a song that would go with the dance.

By intermission we were pretty sure we'd stay for the whole event. After intermission, the same people taught us another folk dance and then asked the band to play a song to go with it. So by then, everyone in the hall knew we were there and knew what we were doing. After that dance, we sat back down and listened to some more music. I think Nick stayed awake this time. Afterward, we thanked the band and our teachers. I got the impression they enjoyed teaching us those dances.

So I want to thank my friends, especially Cathy and Nick, for taking a somewhat disappointing evening and turning it into one of the most memorable parts of the trip. You made a lot of people's day. And a big thank you to the warm, hospitable people at that hall in Charlottetown for accommodating us and passing on a bit of your culture.