Carole Conrad’s friend, Mike
Johnston, will engage in a discussion about the “Culture and History of the
Picts” at our General Meeting this Thursday, July 19th. Don’t miss
out on this informative evening.
New Addition this year:
Renaissance Scots
Of the
several Living History or Re-enacting groups around, they’re the only ones
portraying the Scots IN Scotland, being Scottish. Come, watch, ask questions,
participate and HAVE FUN!
Weavers
and Spinners
The Masters of the Fabric Arts
The
Kilt ‘n Hammer
Clan
Blacksmith
Check out the Renaissance Scots
web site for more info: www.renscots.org/
MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT: Willson
& McKee
Known for engaging their audiences with an energetic blend
of traditional and contemporary acoustic music, Wilson & McKee have
performed throughout the country
This very
talented pair from Colorado combines original and traditional songs, and they
have mastered quite a range of instruments to back their fine vocals. Kim
McKee is featured on accordian, hammer dulcimer, guitars, folk harp,
mountain dulcimer, bodhran, stories and a wonderful bit of ceili dance! Ken
Willson can be heard playing guitars, Irish Bouzouki, bagpipes (on
occasion), storytelling, and some mean ceili swing himself. They play
traditional Scottish and Irish songs, along with lots of their own well-crafted
tunes, which are written and played in Celtic style. Their harmonies are
outstanding and not to be missed!
For more info, go to: www.jigheads.com
DANCING ENTERTAINMENT:
Molly Bennett Dancers
Molly
Bennett started her career in Irish dance and music in San Antonio, TX when she was 30. The music actually came first - it was through her membership in the
band St James's Gate that she was introduced to the San Antonio Irish Dancers.
Molly
toured with St James's Gate, which went to Ireland in 1986 and won the
All-Ireland Championship for Groupi Ceol. It was Molly's last gig with the
band, since the family had already moved to Denver. The female Bennetts
enrolled in the Shamrock School of Irish Dance, eventually luring her husband
Bill to join them. When the Shamrock School moved out of town, its adult
students were left without a home, so Molly started the Denver Ceili Club for
informal Irish group dancing and was also a founding member of the City of Denver Pipe Band's Irish Dance Section.
As
her daughters advanced up the competition ladder in Irish dancing, they reached
the point where they needed the beautifully embroidered solo dresses which
girls and women wear. With the "I can do that!" spirit she has always
had, Molly made the dresses herself and then turned it into a business. Her
company, It's Knotwork to Me, Inc., produces school costumes and solo dresses
for a nationwide clientele.
In
1996, Molly earned her accreditation as an Irish dance teacher, a
"TCRG" in the jargon of the trade, allowing her to enter her students
in sanctioned competitions. That fall, her 8-hand team won first place in Adult
Mixed Ceili at the Western Region Oireachtas, the regional competition.
Molly
and her family founded their Irish dancing school for all ages, the Heritage
Irish Stepdancers, in 1998. In the summer of 2000, they built their own studio
complex, the Friendship Irish Dance Center in SE Denver. The Bennett School was formed in January 2002 following a split in Heritage.
Molly has stayed active in Irish music and teaches classes
and workshops at the Swallow Hill Music Association, the California Traditional
Music Association, and other groups. She and two friends produced an album of
traditional bawdy ( but not vulgar) songs, "The Bawdy Beautiful". She
also teaches introductory classes in Irish dancing through Colorado Free
University several times a year.
For more info, go to:
www.bennett-school.com/Bennett-School/Home.html
The Festival will be looking for volunteers, if you’re
interested in helping, please send an e-mail to Info@BlackHillsCelticEvents.org
For more info on the Gathering of the Clans Festival,
go to:
www.dakotaclans.com
|
July 11
|
7:00 p.m.
|
Board Meeting @ Carole Conrad’s
|
|
July 19
|
7:00 p.m.
|
General membership
Meeting, American Legion Post 22, Rapid City
PROGRAM: Culture and
History of the Picts by Mike Johnston
|
|
Aug 2
|
7:00 p.m.
|
Board Meeting
|
|
Aug 16
|
7:00 p.m.
|
General membership
Meeting, American Legion Post 22, Rapid City
PROGRAM: The Role of the
Irish in the Wars
|
|
Aug 30-Sept 2
|
|
Gathering of the Clans
Celtic Festival at Memorial Park
|
|
Sept 6
|
7:00 p.m.
|
Board Meeting
|
|
Sept 20
|
7:00 p.m.
|
General membership
Meeting, American Legion Post 22, Rapid City
PROGRAM: TBA
|
*American Legion Post 22, 818 East St. Patrick St, Rapid City
Wonderful
Food and
Camaraderie!
Knights know how to throw
A Midsummer’s Eve
Party!
Siaryn Duggan and Heather
Payden helped with our 1st
ever May Day Pole.
What Fun For ALL !!!!!!
Siaryn
Duggan, owner of Celtic Connection in downtown Rapid City, gave us this update
on her new store:
We have quite a good variety
of food ranging from Licorice Allsorts, Cadbury Flake Bars in milk AND dark
chocolate, milk chocolate digestive biscuits, smarties, crunchies and
lots of other chocolates. Barry's Tea - regular and Irish Breakfast,
Heinz Baked Beans, Branston Pickle, Mint Sauce, lime marmalade and Lemon Curd -
to name but a few!!
Also - just arrived for your
shopping convenience (!!!) sterling silver Celtic jewelry at extremely
affordable prices. All kinds of fun items such as "Parking
Signs", stickers, license plates, key rings and maps. It seems we
have something new almost every day - and I am also open to
"constructive" suggestions for more items. I am hoping to have
Ladies Clothing in time for the Gathering of the Clans. (YEAH!!!!!)
Also, we’re open late every
Thursday until 8 p.m., as is nearly the entire downtown area. I would
say about 80% of the stores comply! As a reminder, there is free parking
at all the leased parking lots on Saturdays and after 6 p.m. on weekdays!
Makes It All Worth It
I’ll admit writing June’s
president letter was somewhat challenging as I was having a bit of trouble
focusing on the task at hand and I was concerned about July’s letter as well.
As I was mentally debating with myself and disparaging over a possible topic,
it suddenly hit me like a bolt of thunder. The topic was right in front of me
and so simple it seemed absurd to write about. It was simply something this SIS
society is all about, not just about getting the word out about our Celtic
Culture, but also about the camaraderie and the friendships and fellowship we
enjoy when we are together. What brought me to this subject? A garage/yard sale
that we held in June at Carole and Jim Conrad’s home in the name of a fund
raising event for SIS. Sure the intent of a garage/yard sale is to make
money and in our case was to raise monies for the SIS. The day started out the
usual way with a few customers strolling in with a couple of small rushes of
maybe 5 or 6 people at once. This was fairly typical of the day and we managed
to even make a few dollars for everyone’s efforts. But the real highlight of
the day was the coffee that we started with along with great conversation that
traversed the entire spectrum from our families, some past military careers to
current events and I’m quite sure everything else in between. The weather could
not have been more perfect, a bit coolish in the morning (which made the coffee
even better, with bright hot sunshine the remainder of the day. All throughout
the day Carole provide us with hot coffee or ice cold drinks and also offered
up a delightful lunch. Aliyha was gracious enough to man the till the entire
day and to do the hard sell on some of those not sure customers, she made them
feel that they just had to have whatever they were looking at. But I keep
reflecting back to which for me was the most memorable part of this event, the
conversations and the visiting with each member and friends and just talking
about life, nothing deep and profound or drastically dramatic, just plain good
ole conversation amongst friends. This was truly a good day that reminded why
and what for this SIS society is all about. Thank-you to all who were involved
with this great little project and a very special thanks to our hosts Carole
and Jim Conrad who made this event what it was “Fun”.
Bill Knight
President/SIS
Your Input Needed
This newsletter would be far more
interesting with your input: news, events, culture, history, photos, new
Celtic businesses, anything. Submit your articles in MS Word doc and photos in
jpg format. E-mail to info@BlackHillsCelticEvents.org
.
Here’s to beefsteak when you’re hungry,
Whiskey when you are dry,
Greenbacks when you are busted,
And heaven when you die!
We welcome any Scottish or Irish trivia from any member.
Please submit your thoughts to Info@BlackHillsCelticEvents.org
or
contact Pat Hamilton, newsletter editor.
The Sons of Norway host
dancing lessons at the Canyon Lake Senior Citizens’ Center each Monday evening
at 6:30. We’re learning some Norwegian dances and are preparing to learn some
Celtic dances. Call John or Nancy Burke if you’re interested in attending as
their summer schedule may vary a bit.
This will be a regular feature
of our Newsletter with your help. Please share any of your favorite Celtic
Shopping locations with our Newsletter editor, Pat Hamilton. Send any
suggestions to info@BlackHillsCelticEvents.org
.
Dream Shoes (Bald Mountain): http://www.DreamShoes.com/
They have great sandals and
shoes for both men and women.
Pyramid Collection: http://www.PyramidCollection.com/
Clothing, jewelry, goblets
(mail-order catalog available)
Creative Irish Gifts: www.ShopIrish.com
Clothing, trinkets, jewelry,
caps, mugs (mail-order catalog available)
Cashs of Ireland: www.cashs.com
Dishes, glassware, clothing
(mail-order catalog available)
Shannon: www.ShopShannon.com
Clothing, trinkets, glasses
(mail-order catalog available)
Sofi’s Stitches: http://www.sofisstitches.com/
Medieval and renaissance
clothing
Gael Song: http://www.gaelsong.com/
(mail-order catalog
available)
Celtic Croft: www.kilts-n-stuff.com
Kilts, clothing, jewelry, etc
(mail-order catalog available)
The Celtic Shop: http://CelticShopDunedin.com
This is our old friend Coleen
Coble’s web site. Check out her wide assortment.
Because we had an AWESOME Midsummer’s Eve Party at
Knights INSTEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!
J
I.
Old Business
Booths cost $100 and
electricity is extra.
- Combining
SIS and COA? Maybe not. We should not change too much to join. Our focus
is to celebrate our heritage and to have fun.
- Location
for SIS dinners
Moose Club or Elks? Radisson?
- Heritage
Festival. Fun.
- Gillette
Festival. Festival board has some issues to deal with.
2.
New Business
- Storage
room is occupied. We need help to organize it.
- We
need more flags and stands etc.
- We
just got some new tartan books.
- Getting
members to help more? Get on the phone and ask. If they decline working
in a booth then maybe they can cook. Would you consider helping me to do
this? Ask specific things.
III. Standing Business
- Website-please
check to make sure that Darren is on there.
- Programs:
July-talk on the Picts by Mike Johnston.
August-The role of the Irish in the wars.
Next
months meeting at the Hamilton’s
President Bill
Knight info@BlackHillsCelticEvents.org
Vice President John Burke
Secretary Heather Payden (Sally Knight, co-secretary)
Treasurer Carole Conrad
Board Members Aliyah
Sanders, Kerry Smith, Jim Byrne, James Marrs, Paul Smith
Past President Gary
Hamilton
Membership Sally Knight
Web Site Gary
Hamilton
Newsletter Pat
Hamilton, info@BlackHillsCelticEvents.org
If you would like to contribute an article or story, list an event,
submit a photo, etc. to the newsletter, please email the item to me by the 5th
of each month.
PO Box 765, Rapid City SD 57709
