Presenters & Exhibitors
We’re going virtual!
The Ceili of the Valley Society (CVS) is excited to announce its 5th annual Samhain Celtic New Year Festival will take place for all of October 2020. Keep an eye on our website. More information will be added soon.
The following exhibitors joined us for our 2019 festival.
All-Ireland Cultural Society of Oregon (AICS)
The All-Ireland Cultural Society (AICS) celebrates Irish culture through social activities, educational meetings, genealogy, and entertainment. We intend to exhibit various crafts and items from Ireland and offer a gift basket to be won through a raffle.
www.oregonirishsociety.org, www.facebook.com/AICSOregon/
Aislinn Adams
Irish illustrator, designer and horticulturist Aislinn Adams has lived in Salem, Oregon for nineteen years. In Oregon she has found the perfect environment to combine her love of the natural world with her art and design. Nowadays her work is mainly focused on botanical art- in particular the native plants of the Pacific Northwest.
When not working on her botanical art Aislinn loves to connect with her Irish cultural heritage; hosting traditional Irish music concerts at her home and supporting the Ceili of the Valley. For the past few years, she has been researching her family history, in particular, her grandmother Annie Malone’s story. Annie Malone was involved in the 1916 Rising and the Irish War of Independence. Through this research, Aislinn has studied this period in Irish history and will share what she has learned in her workshop at the Samhain Festival.
WORKSHOP — The Irish War of Independence: Using her research into her family’s participation in the war Aislinn will give an overview of the period including some key events and women’s participation.
www.aislinnadams.com, www.facebook.com/aislinnadamsdesign
Amica L. Grimberg
“We are face paint artists, enthusiastically returning to the Celtic New Year’s celebration! Using various inspirations, we have selected designs specifically to reflect Celtic art for the New Year’s Festival. We have provided face art collectively at events for churches and Salem Art Fair. We provide a booth for patrons to visit without a set schedule. If there is a wait, they can look over the design collection or watch as others get their faces, arms, or hands painted. Our paints are non-toxic, suitable for sensitive skin, paraben, and fragrance-free. “
Find them in the Celtic Crafts Area at the back of the Hall.
Andy Cadotte
“I plan on being outside and letting people experience Hurling and Gaelic football. I will give rules and play examples on the hours of 11:00 am, 12 noon, 1:00 pm, and 2:00 pm.”
Carl Beilstein
“I’ve been with Ceili of the Valley since 2006 and also served as Board President for a number of years. Seeing the Sea Cadet’s knot display at the VFW Hall and doing Ceili dancing where formations are often inter-weaved like Celtic knots intrigued me. Being a DIY person, I decided to try my hand at creating knot loom boards for making Celtic knots using rope and have also choreographed a few dances with knots in mind.”
Try your hand at a Celtic knot activity using a loom.
Channing Dodson
Channing will be performing many times throughout the festival. Catch him:
- Piping during the Opening Ceremony, including piping for the Sword Dance
- Co-presenting a workshop on the pipes with Preston from Na Rósaí
- Piping for Highland Dancers during a Celtic Teaser…this may even be outdoors if the weather cooperates…which will give more time to share pipe tunes and dances
- Time and weather allowing you may be able to engage Channing in some Scots Gaelic and Breton (the language of Brittany) outside on the front patio
www.portlandpipes.com, www.facebook.com/ChanningDodsonMusic
Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann, Micheal O’Domhnaill Branch of Oregon
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann is the largest group involved in the preservation and promotion of Irish traditional music. It is a non-profit cultural movement with hundreds of local branches around the world. The Oregon branch is the Mícheál Ó Domhnaill Oregon Branch of Comhaltas, a name that was chosen to honor the late singer, guitar player and Gaelic speaker who contributed so much to the preservation and growth of traditional music and culture here in Portland. Representing the branch at the festival are Nancy Jarrell, Secretary and Membership Chair and Mary Carey, Treasurer. Nancy has been involved in the Irish music and dance community in Portland for over twenty years. She’s a well-known fiddler, singer, dancer, and session leader. Mary is also a fiddler and started playing Irish music under the guidance of the Atlanta, Georgia Comhaltas branch, Irish Music Traditions of Atlanta. She also dabbles in set dancing and especially loves to play for dancers.
They will teach a seasonally appropriate “spooky” song and teach a two-hand dance (The Canadian Barndance) at the Ceili. CCE will also have a display table where you can find out more information about this
www.cceoregon.org, www.facebook.com/cceoregon/
Eric Chandler
Eric will be highlighting two iconic Scottish presentations: The Sword Dance and Folding the Great Kilt. He was a competitive Highland Dance and a member of Dancing in the Isles, a Scottish Dance group which performed at the Arizona Renaissance Festival. Eric enjoys being able to introduce the public to these two examples of his heritage. When not in the Spinning Room performing, you will find him outside helping with the Mini-Highland Games.
Gordon Munro
Gordon will tell Celtic folktales from the Celtic tradition. For Samhain, the stories are focused on the season, the end of the Celtic year when the veil between worlds grow thin….a time when the creatures of the other world can walk in our world.
Hannah Zelmer
Hannah will be demonstrating Highland dances in the Dance Showcase and you can also catch a sample of Highland dance with Channing and Eric during the Highland Pipes and Dance Celtic Teaser.
Kerry Wymetalek
Kerry will be presenting a workshop in genealogy. Here is why he is interested in genealogy: “I have been conducting Family research since I found I was adopted as a child with my twin sister. She had some early memories, I had none perhaps due to several head injuries as a child. I seriously started research in 1981, and “found most of my siblings (eleven total) in 1983. Due to DNA, we found our last missing sister this last year.” Come join him to find out how you can start on your journey to find your family’s history.
Maldon Meehan
Maldon Meehan is a performer, teacher and choreographer of Irish sean-nós and set dance. Maldon holds a BA in Irish Studies/Theater Arts from The Evergreen State College and an MA in Ethnochoreology from the University of Limerick, Ireland. She has been teaching since 1994. She is a 2008 Regional Arts and Cultures grant recipient.
As a sean-nós dancer, Maldon has appeared on the nationally televised 2005 Oireachtas at the Cork Opera House in Cork City (TG4) as well as on Connemara Community Radio and Raidió na Gaeltachta (RTÉ). Maldon placed 3rd in the 2005 Comórtas Chóilín Sheáin Dharach, a sean-nós jig competition held annually in Connemara. In 2005 Maldon and Ronan Regan released an instructional DVD of sean-nós dance. Today the DVD has been sold in more than 17 countries.
Maldon has performed and or taught at the Milwaukee Irish Festival (Wisconsin), the Bon Arts Festival (Ireland), the Friday Harbor Irish Music Camp (Washington), Aladdin Theater (Oregon), Irish Connections Festival (Massachusetts), Sean-nós Milwaukee (Wisconsin), the Portland Christmas Revels, and Brian O’Donovan’s Christmas Celtic Sojourn (Massachusetts). She has performed on stage with Johnny B Connolly, Dale Russ, Kevin Burke, Danu, Jackie Daily, Ronan Regan, Kieran Jordan and Shannon Dunne.
Maldon is a founding member of Sean-nós Northwest, a non-profit organization dedicated to presenting dance, song and language in the Pacific Northwest. In the spring of 2010, she opened the Maldon Meehan Dance Studio where she holds regular classes and workshops.
PRESENTATION & WORKSHOP: Catch her in these presentations and workshop:
- The Dance Showcase
- Co-presenting with Nora a Irish Sean-Nós workshop
- Maldon will also be calling some of the dances to our Ceili Festival Finale where all Festival attendees can participate.
Mary Grace Brogdon
Mary Grace is a musician, psychotherapist, and forest advocate in the Southern Willamette Valley whose passion is using all of her skills to being peace and healing to the people and the land. She will be sharing her harp talents with us on the Main Stage at 12:05 p.m. She will also lead an intro to harp workshop where there will be some harps for you to share as you learn a tune.
Na Rósaí
Na RósaÍ performs traditional Irish, Appalachian, Scottish, Breton, And other Celtic & Folk music and songs featuring fiddle, flute, uilleann pipes, bouzouki, and whistles. The band’s focus has been exploring the links between the musical traditions of the Celtic regions and North America by arranging tunes from the two regions with a traditional sensibility. Na Rósaí is Irish Gaelic for “The Roses” in honor of Portland, the City of Roses.
WORKSHOPS:
- Exploring Celtic Strings: Bouzouki and Fiddle
- Exploring Celtic Pipes: Uilleann, co-presenting with Channing Dodson on Highland pipes
- Exploring Celtic Wind Instruments: Flute & Tin Whistle
Na Rósaí will also provide live music for throughout the Festival and for our Festival Finale – Ceili Dancing for all attendees.
www.narosai.com, www.facebook.com/narosaipdx
Nancy Kurz
Being an eclectic Artist, Nancy expresses herself in several mediums, (Water Color, Drawing, acrylic painting, Calligraphy & Printmaking). She claims “Clay” as her first love, throwing pots on the wheel or hand-building (e.g. teapots, mugs, bowls, tiles, birds, etc.) and thoroughly enjoys the process of Raku. She also wears another hat and loves to draw out the creative process in others and sees that by “doing Art, it is a form of Therapy”, by teaching in local schools, her home studio or demonstrations. She earned her BFA from Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles and also studied pottery under Tom Coleman at the Museum Art School, Portland Oregon. Nancy’s creations have been on display at the Art in the Valley Gallery, Corvallis River Gallery of Independence and Bush Barn Art Gallery of Salem. For more information and examples of her work go too Etsy online at ClayWaveCreations. She also participates in several art shows during the year throughout the Willamette Valley. Her Art will be for sale at the Friends of CVS Store.
PRESENTATIONS:
Calligraphy Demo — The demonstration of the Celtic Uncial Hand with a flat brush and nibbed dip pen on medium-sized Calligraphy paper with Calligraphy ink. Viewers will have the opportunity to ask questions as she demonstrates and she will also be available if viewers want to participate in the step by step process making a Celtic Uncial letter on several pieces of *”Brush Stroke” practice paper. Nancy will demonstrate the holding of the pen/brush, position of the body/arm as well as the hand. Nancy stresses that Calligraphy is a type of dance between the artist, the pen and paper that requires ‘practice, practice, and more practice’ and a good dose of patience (like any dance, it takes time and patience and a bit of discipline to get the moves down).
*Brush Stroke paper if fun for demo’s and helps the beginner to ease into the structure of the discipline, since the brush is dipped in water and makes dark marks on the paper that disappear in a few moments which enhances the participants ability to relax and not focus on their mistakes but just have a good and relaxing experience.
Printmaking Demo — The objective to the printmaking demo is to provide a basic knowledge of the general steps and techniques of Printmaking by using a “contemporary, user friendly” type of printing pate that can be carved with a ball point pen. The printing plate is made of a specific type of Styrofoam that be drawn on to execute a design that can be printed in minutes. Participants will be encouraged to create a design either by choosing a Celtic template or create their own design. Participants will have 3 stages to go through and can be completed within the allotted time. Stage one: Create design, Stage two: ink the plate and stage three: Print and pull the print. Water based inks are used. Black, white, or green/blue are available.
For more information, please contact Nancy Kurz at: email nancywatsonkurz@gmail.com or phone: 503-508-6634.
Nora Sherwood
Nora is a life-long dancer! She started out as a little ballet tot and progressed through jazz, modern and ballroom, and has even been involved with contact improvisation, post-modern and Capoeira.
She discovered Irish dance during the Riverdance craze and spent a few years dabbling before she took a major plunge into the world of competitive Irish dance at the age of 40. She worked through the ranks to eventually retire as a champion dancer at age 50. She also ran a branch of an Irish dance school in Colorado, where she trained dancers to perform and compete. Although she had to retire from active competition due to injury, she still performs modern Irish step dance. Along the way she also discovered sean-nós dance – an older style that is a precursor to the modern style. With its looser and more improvisational approach, it’s definitely her favorite style of dance today. Nora has studied sean-nós dance with Emma O’Sullivan, Kieran Jordan, Patrick Devane, Nic Gareiss, Siobhan Butler, Shannon Dunne, Maldon Meehan and Alicia Guinn.
Nora is also an Irish musician (whistle, bodhrán and voice) and really enjoys offering a variety of instruments (including foot percussion) to Irish music sessions and performances. She took up the bodhrán about 15 years ago, at the request of her husband, who wanted her to accompany him on his uilleann pipes. She was already familiar with the rhythms and melodies as a dancer, so making the jump to playing the drum was pretty natural. She plays the traditional Kerry style.
Catch her in these presentations and workshops:
- The Dance Showcase
- Co-presenting with Maldon a Irish Sean-Nós workshop, and
- Introduction to Bodhran workshop. If you have a bodhran please bring it to class. Otherwise, there will be pizza boxes to use as practice drum.
Nora will also be calling some of the dances to our Ceili Festival Finale where all Festival attendees can participate.
www.pipedancemusic.com, www.facebook.com/pipedance.irishmusic/
Oregon Irish Dance Academy
At Oregon Irish Dance Academy, we love Irish dancing, and it shows! Our program is fully non-competitive. We offer weekly Irish dancing classes for ages three to adult in multiple locations. We hold uniquely awesome day camps from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm during Spring, Winter, and Summer Breaks that you definitely won’t want to miss out on! We create opportunities for our dancers to perform, whether it’s marching in St. Patrick’s Day parades, training on one of our Performance Teams, or dancing in our annual Recitals. Your dancer gets everything in one happy place! We believe in building self-esteem and confidence and helping our students feel successful. We set attainable goals, provide level- and age-appropriate challenges, and promote a positive learning mindset. We inspire through example, showing our students how to see the good in each experience, to value that there is always room for improvement, and to enjoy the journey and the hard work that get them somewhere. We encourage our students to be creative, ask questions, and be the best that they can be!
Our dancers will perform Irish step dancing and do a step dance workshop and teach some simple Ceili dances. Christina White will be calling a Ceili dance or two at the Ceili Festival Finale
www.oregonirishdance.com, www.facebook.com/oregonirishdance/
Welsh Society of Oregon
The Welsh Society of Oregon (WSOR) develops and perpetuates Welsh heritage, culture, and music in Oregon. We strive to sustain: pride in being Welsh, support for learning about Wales, the Welsh language, and exploration of Welsh-American issues by our members and for others in the community. The Society was founded in 1907 as the Portland Cambrian Society.
WSOR meets the first Saturday of each month at Kenilworth Presbyterian Church, 4028 SE 34th Avenue at Gladstone Street in Portland. For more information, please visit http://oregonwelsh.org.
We will have a booth with information and Welsh Goodies for sale, including the tasty Welsh Cakes!
PRESENTATIONS:
- Welsh cake demonstration. We will walk you through all the steps of making and cooking tasty Welsh cakes in this interactive demonstration
- The Welsh Dragon Choir presents traditional choral pieces
- The Little Dragons Improv Theatre Troupe presents jokes and folk talks from Wales
Miscellaneous
Ceili Dancing — An opportunity to try Irish and Celtic social dancing in a relaxed setting to live music by Na Rósaí
Celtic Pop-Up — Watch for possible activities such as making a Celtic knot (hands on), Knots – hands on, Calligraphy demonstration, and Printmaking demonstration.
CVS Store — Festival t-shirts, shirts, and bags for sale.
Craft Area — From face painting and creative crafts to working with Sculpey clay, water-color paints and colored pencils and paper for coloring and drawing the kid’s area has an activity for every age and skill. Adults, too, will be drawn to the activities and are invited to enjoy them alongside their children.
Food — Sample soup from Ireland, Welsh, and Scotland, served with salad and soda bread. Scones are also available.
Friends of CVS store featuring
Ernie Kirchner: Tie Dye Clothing – “True confessions, other than my choice of colors, I really couldn’t justify tie-dye as Celtic. However, some Celts like it.”
Nancy Kurz: The majority of my body of work is hand thrown functional pottery, with Celtic Motifs made of porcelain & stoneware; mugs, bowls, small dishes, hand-built boxes & pendants. New items this year will be Luminaries, Key Hides, Egg Holders and Herb Hangers. A smaller portion of my work will be matted prints of Celtic Uncial Calligraphy (quotes and phrases).
Laura DeVoe: Hand-crafted Celtic jewelry
Mini-Highland Games – Safe, fun, and kid-friendly Highland Games. You and your kids can try their hand at Welly Throw, Sheaf Toss, and Caber Toss.
Outside Area – if weather permits, watch for storytelling, Celtic Conversation, Bodhran workshop, and the Highland Pipes & Dance outside.
Quilt Raffle – Custom designed Celtic quilt with beautiful, intricate hand quilted knotwork. Leslie Ficker has created this one of a kind quilt to be raffled at the Samhain Celtic New Year Festival to be held at the Willamette Heritage Center on Sunday, October 27th. Tickets will be $5.00 each, 5 for $20.00. The quilt is 72″ square and has a chained border done in contrasting colored stitching. Click here to view quilt.