If there are two things Cape Bretoners need for a good time, it’s good tunes and good food.
Or in the case of The Roots and Food Festival – A Multicultural Celebration to be held on Friday, June 10, and Saturday, June 11, at Sydney’s Centre 200, it’s great tunes and great food.
The Festival kicks off on Friday evening with a concert featuring African Nova Scotian Music Association’s Artist of the Year Shelley Hamilton, along with the Colin Grant Band, The Awakening Souls youth choir, and much more. The concert starts at 7pm and tickets are $10. Tickets for all events are available at the door.
On Saturday, Cape Breton’s cultural diversity is deliciously showcased at Centre 200 with cultural performances and displays from the various communities represented within the Multicultural Council of Cape Breton. A highlight of the day will be the wide array of delicious foods of the world that will be available for sale and sampling. This event runs from 10am to 5pm and admission is just $2.
Shelley Hamilton, a talented singer/writer/actor, released her first CD Feeling Good, in 2004 at the CBC’s Glenn Gould Theatre. From that recording, Hamilton has also created Feeling Good, a one-woman cabaret show that debuted to rave reviews at the 2004 Atlantic Fringe Festival and in Toronto (Yorkville). In addition, for several years she has been a featured performer at the Du Maurier Toronto Jazz Festival. Hamilton has sung in Dubai, Japan, Holland, the Caribbean, and all over Canada and the U.S. Her rich, fluid interpretation of music blends contemporary and original elements of Latin jazz, soul, and pop.
Along with making his comedic debut in the 2011 edition of the Cape Breton Summertime Revue, Colin Grant and his band (Jason Roach, Darren McMullen, Donnie Calabrese, Colin Clarke) are spending this summer relentlessly touring. While Grant can play traditional Cape Breton fiddle tunes with the best of them (and he has), his musical style makes space for indie beats and vintage prog rock among many other influences.
The Awakening Souls debuted in October 2007, at Tracadie United Baptist Church’s 185 Anniversary. They have performed before special guests the Honourable Mayann Francis, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, the Honourable Peter MacKay, deputy Prime Minister and the Honourable Ronnie Chisholm, MP, Minister of Fisheries (in 2007) as well as other dignitaries.
