As the new Artistic Director for Edgewater Casino CelticFest Vancouver I am excited to tell you that our programming for the 2008 festival is now complete. We have a great line up of more than 50 events in store from March 12 to 16, including indoor and outdoor Celtic concerts, music and step dancing workshops, family entertainment, spoken word, music at our official participating pubs/clubs and, of course, all of the fun of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade…and much, much more. In fact, there’s so much going on, it is hard to know where to start, so I have decided that the best thing to do is to give you an exclusive sneak preview of the highlights of our 2008 festival program. This is still a secret to the rest of the world, but since you have taken the trouble to visit our site, we know you must be a real fan of all things Celtic, and we figure you deserve to share our good news.

For the first time in the festival’s history, we are bringing in some great acts from Scotland and Ireland.

In fact, the headliner for our opening night World’s Greatest Ceilidh at the Commodore Ballroom on Wednesday March 12th is the legendary Battlefield Band from Scotland. Under their banner “Forward with Scotland’s Past”, Battlefield Band have been performing on the international scene for more than three decades, inspired by their rich heritage of Celtic music and fired by the strength of the modern Scottish cultural scene. The band mix the old songs and tunes with new self-penned material, playing them on a unique fusion of ancient and modern instruments: bagpipes, synthesizers, fiddles, guitars and lots more. I saw them at Mission Folk Festival and they really got the crowd going. They are the only band in the universe that can go all the way from Bonnie Prince Charlie to Prince (their version of ‘Kiss’ has to be heard to be believed).

Battlefield Band 

On Friday March 14th there’ll be an early evening concert at The Yale Hotel featuring the world’s greatest Celtic guitarist, Tony McManus. Born and raised in Scotland, and now residing in Toronto with his Canadian family, Tony’s music has come to define a new role for the guitar in Celtic music. He has come to represent Celtic music in the guitar world, making regular appearances at guitar festivals and workshops all over the planet. He is also in great demand as a studio musician having contributed to over 60 albums. In addition to his solo output Tony has worked with both singers and instrumentalists providing his distinctive sound on many successful projects. Don’t miss this performance – it will blow your mind. Later that same night at Tom Lee Music Hall, for the second year running, we will present The Artists’ Lounge. The idea was inspired by our former Artistic Director, Henry Kolenko’s 2006 visit to the wonderful Celtic Colours Festival in Cape Breton, where they hold a fantastic nightly after-hours event called the Festival Club. After their regular gigs the festival’s musicians come together to play music in a sultry, intimate setting - in front of a live audience. I witnessed it this year and it was brilliant! You never know who’s going to drop in. At our 2007 Artist’s Lounge we featured players of the calibre of Daniel Lapp, Shona Le Mottée, Stuart Cameron, The Sabir Sisters and many, many more. It was a resounding success. So we are going to do it all over again in 2008 - only better! It will be hosted by Tony McManus and will feature world renowned multi-instrumentalist Steafan Hannigan, and Ottawa Valley fiddling and step dancing sensation Stephanie Cadman, plus a whole host of festival musicians and some of Vancouver’s best Celtic performers. Exciting, unpredictable and explosive music will be heard into the wee hours and you are all invited! On Saturday March 15th the BIG (and we mean BIG!) St. Pat’s Night Out at Richard’s on Richards features Celtic Fiddle Festival – an unbelievable trio of Master Fiddlers – with Kevin Burke (Ireland), Christian Lemaître (Brittany, France) and André Brunet (Quebec). After three brilliant albums and numerous international tours later, these guys are now one of the most popular acts on the Celtic circuit. Also on the bill are two fantastic Cape Breton acts, the fiddle guitar duo of Wendy MacIsaac (Beolach) and Pat Gillis; and a band led by one of the island’s best young fiddlers Chrissy Crowley (Cape Breton). I saw them all at Celtic Colours in October 2007 and I can promise you, these guys rock! Throughout the festival we will feature the cream of BC’s Celtic talent, including The Sabir Sisters, Tiller’s Folly, Jay Knutson and the Celtic Swamp Devils, Kinship and Roof Rabbit. Our MC and musical host this year is bagpiper Jordan Seguin, Pipe Major with the B.C. Regiment - Irish Pipes & Drums. He is the youngest Pipe Major of an army-attached band in Canada or the UK at the present time. Jordan is also a trained actor and plays pipes in a Celtic heavy metal band and has a burgeoning acting career. Keeping with the theme of youth we will also be presenting 15 year old brother and sister guitar/fiddle sensations Qristina and Quinn Bachand from Victoria, BC. They are stars of YouTube and earlier this year they were invited to play at the YouTube Canada launch party in Toronto. Also there’s White Rock BC’s 12 year old wunderkind fiddler Kierah, Coquitlam BC’s 15 year old Celtic fiddle dynamo, Caitlan Read and the aforementioned darling of Cape Breton fiddlers, 17 year old Chrissy Crowell. Yes my friends, these are the fiddlers of the future, and they will convince you that the Celtic music of tomorrow is in very good hands indeed. I could go on, but I’m sure by now you get the picture. There will be more to announce soon. The 2008 Edgewater Casino CelticFest Vancouver is not to be missed.

Each year, we commission an artist to design the festival artwork to reflect both Celtic mythology and what CelticFest represents.

We are delighted to unveil the Celtic Tree of Life artwork for the Edgewater Casino CelticFest 2008, created by Ovi of Intense Graphix. Ovidio, aka Ovi, is a Native of Naples Italy with a passion for music and the arts who moved to Canada in the early 1980’s. After some years of playing as a drummer with various bands, he launched Intense Graphix to pursue a career in the commercial arts field. In his 18 years as a commercial artist, Ovi has been involved in the creation of a multitude of diverse visual projects ranging from the creation of original artwork for local Festivals and events to Airbrushing Custom themed Environments and Murals for local and international clients.

Ovi prides himself in his ability and desire to go beyond his client’s artistic expectations through creativity and his passion for the arts. Like in the beginning years of his career, he views each commissioned art piece as an opportunity to develop new skills and expand his own creative horizons.

The Tree of Life is an esoteric philosophy common to many cultures and mythologies. The Ancients envisioned the entire cosmos in the form of a tree whose roots grow deep in the ground, branches reaching high into the heavens. Also known as the World Tree, the primal Mother Tree was regarded as all-nourishing, all-giving, involved in the creation of the universe and the origin of the first man and Woman. The Celtic Tree of Life is one of the most popular and enduring motifs of Celtic Art, found both on Northumbrian and Celtic crosses and on illuminated manuscripts. Portrayed variously as the Golden Bough, vine, or mistletoe, the interlacing branches/roots symbolize the Celtic belief in the Continuity of Life.

The Celtic tree also represents endurance, success and longevity.

The artwork developed for this year’s festival is an original, contemporary design, not based on any ancient or modern Celtic pattern, however, it has been developed as a modern Celtic Folk motif to reflect the interconnection of all living things.