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Scotch-Irish CelebrationTHIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED. A NEW DATE WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON. The University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College will be holding an Ulster Scots heritage event. The campus is located at 51 Westminster Street in Lewiston. The event’s special guest will be BBC Radio Ulster’s Alister McReynolds. The day’s events will include live music with performances by Castlebay, Maine Premier Celtic Music Duo including a presentation of Scots-Irish musical roots in Maine by Member Julia Lane, lectures by Alister McReynold’s from BBC Radio Ulster’s “A Kist o Wurds”, Author and Maine St. Andrew’s Society Ulster Scots Project Chairman, John Mann, and a panel discussion of the exciting collaborative archaeology project on the Kennebec River featuring guest speakers and USM Professor and archaeologist Barry Rodrigue, Archaeologists Pam Crane and Peter Morrison, Principal of Robbins Historical Research Jay Robbins, and Humanities Student Rebecca Graham. Coffee social hour and Pot Luck lunch will provide opportunities to meet the authors and presenters. Alister McReynolds has written extensively on Scots-Irish history and culture, and in particular about the achievements of the diaspora in the United States. His book, Legacy on the subject of Scots-Irish achievement in America, was published in June 2009. He has lectured at many venues across the United States, including at The Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. His articles have been published in numerous journals including, The Ulster Scotsman and The Pine Tree Highlander as well as in The Belfast Telegraph and The Newsletter. He is a regular contributor to various media projects including the weekly programs on BBC Radio Ulster. John Mann is the founder and president of Mann Associates, Inc., a land surveying and consulting firm working primarily within the 18th century “Kennebec” and “Casco Bay settlement” areas of the State of Maine. He is the Chairman of the Maine Ulster Scots Project (MUSP). MUSP is sponsored by the Saint Andrews Society of Maine. The Saint Andrews Society is a world wide, not for profit organization, focused on Scottish heritage and providing scholarship funds. Mann is the author of Ulster Scots on the Coast of Maine - Vol. 1, The Means Massacre Background and Location and various other articles printed in The Pine Tree Highlander. The Celtic & maritime folk duo Castlebay will present an historically informed music featuring songs and tunes honoring the Scots-Irish immigrants who came to mid-coast Maine in the 1700's. These colonists brought their music with them to the new world as heirlooms and many of their songs and dance tunes appear in Maine's traditional repertoire. In addition, the adventures of these people in their new home provide ingredients for new songs in the traditional style. Exuberant vocals are supported with Julia Lane's award-winning Celtic harp style, and Fred Gosbee's expertise on 12-string guitar, fiddle and woodwinds. In addition to their appearances here in Maine, Castlebay tours frequently down the US east coast and to Ireland, Scotland and England playing at arts centers, museums and schools. They have recently developed a theatrical musical multimedia program illustrating the shipwreck and rescue of Scots-Irish immigrants from Northern Ireland in 1740 called "The Grand Design". This was premiered in May 2007 and has been presented in venues from Canada to North Carolina. The duo has released 20 recordings to date including traditional songs, as well as their original compositions reminiscent of the music of their Celtic ancestors.
(download flyer for the event) For more information about the event please Rebecca Graham at 207-837-9830 or email rebecca.graham@maine.edu
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