Day 18 A Little Bad Luck in Winnipeg

Today we traveled from Winnipeg to Thunder Bay. We started off with a little bad luck. Our bus had the GPS stolen. We’re not sure when but we think between load in and the show. Sometimes people are really desperate this time of year. Rob mentioned that it was only a month old.
After we started driving down the road our coffee pot full of hot coffee flew out of the maker and onto the floor. Glass and hot coffee went everywhere. Nobody was hurt. That's the main thing.
We’ve been watching a few Christmas movies and everyone is generally enjoying the travel days. All is good!

Day 17 Winnipeg A Little Cold Today

Winnipeg…or some call it Winterpeg. It was cold today, but I would think that locals get tired of hearing it. I wonder how it affects tourism?
We did an overnight drive last night and had breakfast before checking in. Rob said visibility was bad due to fog.
Before the show, we watched some of the Grey Cup. Winnipeg’s Bachman Turner played the half time show. Lots of excitement!
Scotiabank was there in full force tonight. Nice meeting people from the local branch.
Some familiar faces in the audience tonight. Thanks for your continuous support. We’ll have to play here again soon!

Day 16 Next Stop Saskatoon

Breakfast at 6:00am.Bus moving at 7:00am. Our next few days are going to be a little crazy. Canada is a big country to travel across which means there’s bound to be a few long travel days.
We arrived in Saskatoon around 2:00pm. After sound check this left 2 hours to be in the hotel to shower and pack for the show and our overnight drive. The shortest stay at a hotel on record for the Barra MacNeils.
Saskatoon was filled with people wearing green to support the Roughriders. Lots of spirit here!
After the show we talked to fans that traveled two hours to attend the concert. Thanks so much for making the long trip! We also met another Lucy who has a boyfriend from Sydney Mines named Greg MacNeil.

Day 15 Grey Cup In Alberta

Today we played a second show in Spruce Grove. This gave us a day to stay in one place and not move too much. Some of us did laundry, some went to the mall, some got haircuts and some bought socks.
The city is extremely busy and is only going to get busier because of the Grey Cup. Hotels are sold out all weekend. People are booking their rooms as far away as Red Deer! The weather is warmer now so it should be a great game for all involved.
The concert was really fun. This show was actually the first of two sold out concerts on sale. There were many die hard fans. One lady had three of our cassettes that she brought to get signed. Very exciting! Hope to do it again!

Day 14 Two Days in Spruce Groove

Today we played our first of two sold out shows in Spruce Groove. It’s just outside of Edmonton. The temperature has finally gone back to around 0 degrees Celsius. Surprisingly, it feels much warmer.
Sheumas had an interesting conversation in a Taxi Cab in the afternoon. The driver was from Newfoundland and loves Celtic music. He said that the music is in his blood because his great grandfather Arthur Scammell wrote the famous folk song, "Squid Jigging Ground". Below I posted a version played by one of our favorite groups “Ryan’s Fancy”.
It’s amazing the people you meet while on the road!
After being away 13 days and talking only on the phone, Lucy finally got to see her girls on Skype. The girls were excited to see Mommy and their dolls on tour. They gave great encouragement for us all!!!

Day 13 - It's a lucky day in Calgary!

Calgary was a concert filled with people from the East Coast. Cousins, friends and fans were enthusiastic through the entire show. Hector MacKenzie’s “On the Very First Christmas” got a huge applause before we even started. Keep cranking out the hits Hector! As a side note, Hector’s birthday is on Jan. 6th (Old Christmas). It’s fitting that he wrote such a heart felt Christmas Carol.
Special thanks to the Riep family. Dustin, Lora, Eric and Ian made a wonderful bag of baked goods and treats for the Barras. Eric and Ian gave us some snowflakes that will help decorate the bus and keep us in the Christmas spirit. Thanks guys!

Day 12 Bringing Brooks Christmas

We’re bringing Christmas to Brooks today! Today was the first day we watched any T.V. on the bus. It’s almost been two weeks and everyone has been so busy that it was the first opportunity to do so. We watched some Big Bang Theory Season 2 and a movie Jamie bought at the gas station, “Doctor Detroit”. It’s an old Dan Aykroyd movie.
We had a visit from our cousin John MacNeil and his wife and sister-in-law. Thanks for driving the hour from Medicine Hat.
Brooks certainly is a friendly place. We broke a record in shaking hands with the audience after the show. The Christmas spirit was in full swing!
We added an extra video today. This was an amazing food court event worth checking out!

Travelling To Calgary

Today was a travel day. We are using Calgary as our home base for the next couple of days. We all had some time to catch up on a few things.
We had a stop at the Tim Hortons along the way. We love the new addition of hot oatmeal.
On another note, our bus is getting pretty dirty after the salty drives. We haven’t found a car wash big enough yet.
Stewart has been very busy with phone interviews and Gaelic studies. Boyd is still plugging away at the videos for your viewing pleasure. Everyone is keeping busy.
Lucy finished reading her book today. She brought several for the road trip. This one was "Kiss The Joy As It Flies" by Sheree Fitch. She enjoyed this book tremendously as it was quite humorous and serious at the same time. Lucy met Sheree Fitch and sat in on one of her workshops at the Cabot Trail Writers Festival in North River, N.S. This is an annual festival that takes place in early October. Lucy highly recommends the festival for the authors, the people of North River, and of course the breathtaking beauty of our island.

Day 10 - Laundry and Goodies

Another snowy trip through the mountains. Today we got to see some big horned sheep and lots of amazing scenery on the drive through our "winter wonderland".

We were well taken care of at the gig today. Between loads of laundry at the venue, we had many Christmas goodies. Thanks Marilyn for the lovely food!
It was really nice to meet some young up and coming musicians at the signing. Keep playing music!!
The Barra MacNeils would like to wish a speedy recovery to our fiddling, piano playing friend back in Cape Breton, Mike Bates. See you at the Ceilidh!!

Day 9 A Cold Start For The Bus

Did you ever have one of those days?It was minus 20 degrees Celsius over night. This caused the airbrake lines on the bus to freeze. With frozen lines, air doesn’t get through. The air releases the brakes so the bus can move. So what did we do? We waited….and waited….and waited for a heater to thaw the line freeze and then put anti-freeze in the lines. The mechanic who came to our aide from quite a distance, landed with his tool box locked with no key in sight. Luckily, it all worked out. It put us back about four hours but we managed to pull everything together before the show.

Kelowna was a sold out and very excited audience. They really turned this day around. We even sang an alternate version of “Christmas In Killarny”. We felt “Christmas In Kelowna” was appropriate.

There was a family of musicians playing in the lobby before the show. Thanks Chloe & Kyle, Ken & Celest for the music!

We took our suitcases through the powdery snow and checked in to the hotel after a long day. An early day tomorrow…time for some rest…zzzzzz

Day 8 Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow! The first snow of the tour and it was cold. Minus 17 degrees Celsius. The roads were very slippery. An RCMP car was rear ended, a tractor trailer jack knifed, and 4x4 trucks were in the ditch. Needless to say we had a careful drive to the gig. We were a little late for load-in, but Donnie got things up and running in Jig time. We managed to squeeze in a buffet at the hotel.

We were all noticing the dryness of Kamloops. It is considered a desert area here. Lip balm and extra water were going fast!

We would also like to introduce Lucy’s foster children for the tour. Flirty Francie, Luvie, Ginger, and Angel are from Sydney Mines and seem delighted about the trip. They are very low maintenance and are good little travelers. (Lucy’s daughters put the travelers in her suitcase for the trip.)

Day 7 The Road to Pender Island

Over the past few days many concert goers have been asking the question “Where else are you going in B.C?” Time and time again, the answer “Pender Island” really surprised them. Most people mentioned that they’ve never been there. One lady said it was the only island in B.C. that she didn’t visit. This made it all the more adventurous.
Pender Island is a little off the beaten path. Population 2000. We took the milk run that had two stops on route before landing on the little island.

After breakfast on the boat, we saw killer whales (check video below). The Captain made an announcement that the whales were on the port side of the ferry. Everyone on the boat was looking the wrong way except for Kyle. His Bras d’Or Lakes sailing experience came in handy.

Our bus driver Rob had to really show his skills today. From backing onto the ferry to maneuvering the small roads (smaller than St. Columba Road in Grasscove, Cape Breton), he showed his years of professional experience. The parking attendants on the ferry said that they never had a bus that big before. There were lots of heads turning on Pender Island as we made our way to the accommodations. Our bus was unable to make it up the steep hill. The tires were spinning a little bit.
Sound and lights were driven in from Victoria. It was a very fun show. The chairs were jammed in. Audience members thanked us for bringing the show to them instead of having to travel a great distance to see it.

Day 6 Mixed Bag of Weather

A bit of an early bus time today. 8:00 am seems like it’s not too bad, but when you factor
in finding a place to eat and packing that doesn’t leave much time for site seeing.
We spent a little time on the water today on two ferries. First, Saltery Bay to Earl’s
Cove and then Langdale to Horseshoe Bay. On the first ferry, the weather was very rainy
and the winds were high. The second ferry was totally opposite…beautiful West Coast
sunshine.
We were excited and very pleased to hear that both of Lucy’s girls had straight “A’s “on
their school report cards! Good job!!
Ryan received his contact lenses in the mail so he had his first non glasses show of the
tour.
The concert tonight was sold out! It always makes it that much better. We’d like to thank
the Kawolchuk family for there continuous support (yummy chocolatesJ). Look out
Pendor Island here we come!

Day 5 Powell River On The Hill

The Max Cameron Theatre is a wonderful venue. Positioned on the top of a hill overlooking the water, it was built as part of a school expansion. It would be great if every school could have this positive enhancement. Thanks to all the staff for your help.

We saw Gibby and Nova Gordon (hooray Gillis Point) after the show. It’s always nice to see some familiar faces from back home.

On a side note, we would like to congratulate Lisa MacArthur for winning a smile!! Merry Christmas!!

Day 4 Barras' Dart Tournament

Another travel day and another ferry ride. We traveled by ferry from Comox to Powell River where our show will be tomorrow. Travel days are a great time to get caught up on emails and such. Boyd is working hard on videos for your entertainment.

The hotel was set up with good food and dart boards. A little tournament broke out and even our bus driver Rob got involved. Good times!

Day 3 Great Audience In Victoria!

Only a short drive to Victoria today. Ryan has realized that he doesn’t have spare contact after loosing one. I guess he will have to wear glasses or be one eye blind.

The Alix Goolden Performance Hall is always a great place to perform. Between the wonderful decorations in the hall and the high energy audience, it makes for a really great show. It also helps that everyone is starting to adjust to the four hour time change. Maybe some day we could come back to Victoria with our new show “Cathedral”.

We’d like to make a very special thank you to Rene and Carolyn for organizing the two shows. Thanks for piping Rene. The Glengarry and O’Brian Dancers added so much youthful energy to the show. They were absolute pros tonight! The Oswego Hotel was a show sponsor tonight and treated us to a wonderful meal. Great place to stay! Check it out sometime.

Tour Date Listings and Info

All tour dates and info can be found on the Barra MacNeils' website via this link:

http://www.barramacneils.com/tour.htm

Also follow the group via their Fan Page on Facebook where we post updates, articles, reviews etc.:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Barra-MacNeils/89070619311

Day 2 First Show in Naniamo

Our first show of the tour started in Naniamo which has a great deal in common with our home town of Sydney Mines. They are both coal towns, they are also on the water, and they invented Naniamo Bars and we continue the tradition of making and eating them. As a side note, it’s also the home town of famous Jazz pianist and singer Diana Krall.

The first show required lots of rehearsing. We have some special guest in the next two shows, Rene Cusson on Highland pipes and The Glengarry and O'Brian Dancers.

The audience was great! There were quite a few people from our show in March. We also met some of the local staff from the three Scotiabank branches in Naniamo. We are happy to have Scotiabank on board as a sponsor again this year.

Day 1 Travelling out West

Day 1- Nov. 12, 2010

Hello everyone! Here we are again on the first day of spreading Christmas cheer on our national tour that will take us from west to east for 39 days. Today we had to make our way west from our homes in Cape Breton.

We just finished our newest musical adventure “Cathedral” which left very little time for preparing for our trip. The scramble to put away the yard furniture and lawn mowers, getting winter tires on the vehicles, and finding all the boxes of Christmas decorations made for a crazy few days.

Some of the band got together with our nieces and watched the original cartoon of ”How The Grinch Stole Christmas” while eating candy canes and drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows to get into the Christmas spirit.

After we gave our loved ones a kiss and a squeeze, we flew out of Sydney, Cape Breton on the 6:00am flight to Halifax, then onto Toronto and a short jump to Vancouver to meet the Tour bus. A ferry to Nanaimo and a rickshaw to our hotel (just kidding) and our travel day ended.

Welcome to the brand new 2010 Barra MacNeils' Christmas Tour Blog!

Welcome to the brand new 2010 Barra MacNeils' Christmas Tour Blog!