Cape Breton's Celtic Colours International Festival has banner year
Big-name performers on this year's bill brought in new visitors
Cape Breton's Celtic Colours International Festival is reporting a banner year.
"I would have to say that this was our best festival ever," said executive director Joella Foulds.
- Celtic Colours and Fiddlers Run in tune with running music
- Celtic Colours show cancelled after power goes out
Ticket sales were up, with 25 shows sold out before the festival had even opened, she said.
Big-name performers on this year's bill, such as Ricky Skaggs and Loreena McKennitt, brought quite a few first-time visitors to the event.
"We were very fortunate to have...Loreena McKennitt, Ricky Skaggs and the String Sisters, all in the same year, all on our wish list for a long time," Foulds said.
"We had new audiences join us who were fans of some of those people, particularly Ricky and Loreena, who might not have thought Celtic Colours was their cup of tea, but I think they do now."
Foulds said live streaming the performances also helped to attract new people in recent years.
The 19th annual festival opened on Oct. 9 and wrapped up on Saturday night with a concert at Centre 200 featuring Ricky Skaggs, J.P. Cormier and the Barra MacNeils.