Celebrate Spring’s arrival with a weekend of Celtic-themed family fun at the Alton Mill Arts Centre.
The event runs on May 5 and 6.
Highlights include live music, open studios, a special menu featuring culinary favourites from Scotland and Ireland, and a Celtic marketplace featuring Scottish Highland dancing, vendors, and sampling of whisky as well as local craft beers and ciders.
Musical headliners are instrumental trad trio NUA on May 5 at 7:30pm supported by opening acts Morningside Music and Travel-worn.
Rhythmfoot featuring the Leahy Family will perform on May 6 at 2pm.
A cash bar will be available and tickets are available online and at Gourmandissimo Café in the Alton Mill, with a package discount on offer.
In the spirit of an east coast kitchen party, the weekend is packed with opportunities for the public to participate in work, play, and learn-shops led by professional artists and musicians from Headwaters and beyond.
On Saturday afternoon, the Georgetown Folk Collective invites the public to dust off their fiddles, guitars, and whistles, and join the ensemble of musicians for a pub-style jam session in Millrace Room.
Other free workshops include Celtic harp for beginners, outdoor dry-stone walling projects under the tutelage of expert artist Doug Bell and an all-ages Celtic knot demo with local woodcarver John McCartney.
Visitors can pre-register for the following paid workshops:
– Learn to Play Bodhr á n with award-winning musician Jacob McCauley of NUA;
– The Story of Celtic Music, with the full NUA ensemble;
– Mother’s Day Scarf Printing with Joyscout Learnshops;
– Give it a Celtic Whirl with the Hive Encaustic Studio.
Full details for workshops, including cost and dates, are available at altonmill.ca.
The Spring Open House aims to bring both familiar and new faces through the doors of the Alton Mill in celebration of the arts and community development.
A portion of funds raised through food and beverage sampling will be donated to Facilitation Wellington Dufferin (FWD) in support of an emerging, local artist working with developmental disabilities.
The Alton Mill Arts Centre will continue to partner with FWD to host an exhibition of artwork at a later date.
Marketplace and drink vendors include GoodLot Farmstead Brewing Co., Caledon Hills Brewing, Badlands Brewing Company, Heartwood Farm and Cider, Spirit Tree Cider, Hitchhiker Beverage Company, Celtic Fair jewellery, artists Brian Blakeman and Diana Skeates, Tresbello and The Olivar Corp.
The Alton Mill delivers exciting and eclectic visual arts programming over the open house weekend, including the introduction of The Maze Project and A Distant Memory 2, outdoor artwork by Fiona Legg, a Canadian Sculpture Competition Finalist; a solo exhibition by ceramic and mill studio artist Ann Randeraad in the Headwaters Arts Gallery; and an artist reception for Where the Wild Ensues, photography by Ryan Pechnick and Ellen Cameron, with an artist talk in the Noodle Gallery from 12:30 to 4pm.
As one of several annual Mill-wide open house events, Get Your Celtic On! showcases the talented resident artists of the of the Alton Mill in their studios from 10am to 5pm both days; visitors are invited into the studios of artists working in oils, acrylics, encaustic, and more.
Recent additions to the roster of mill artists include Sherry Park, Emma Pink and Kendra Bailey.
For further details and ticketing information, visit the Alton Mill online and on Facebook.
Admission to the Alton Mill throughout the Get Your Celtic On! weekend is by voluntary donation.
Contact Pearl Schachter, pearl@altonmill.ca, 905-805-1064 with additional inquiries.
