Moran Taing Many thanks to Richard McKenzie for helping at the Riordan Days of Summer and to both Richard McKenzie and Kris Satterwhite for organizing food and our float for the 4th of July Parade. Many thanks also to all of you who are working like MAD to make this year’s Arizona Highland Celtic Festival the BEST EVER!!!!

Volunteers Needed! We still need volunteers for the Celtic Festival. The work begins July 16 and final clean-up will be July 21. All manner of jobs and loads of fun too! Call the volunteer hotline at 928-853-9499.

CELTIC WEEK ACTIVITIES!!! We have a week full of events surrounding the Jim Thomson U.S. School of Piping & Drumming, the Grand Canyon Celtic Arts Academy and the Arizona Highland Celtic Festival! For more information on either of these schools or the festival, please visit www.nachs.infoSunday Night 7/13FREE Piping…The story of the MacCrimmons and Piobairachd with Bruce Hitchings, NAU Music Building Room 146 at 7pmMonday Night 7/14FREE Scottish Drumming with Gordon Brown, Andrew Elliott and Dixie Ingram then Arron Shaw on the great Highland bagpipe NAU Music Building Room 146 at 7pm Tuesday Night 7/15GCCAA evening workshops at Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy 7 to 9FREE Robert Watt and Bruce Hitchings world class bagpipers, NAU Music Building Room 219 (2nd floor) 7pmWednesday Night 7/16FREE Celtic Concert, Bushmaster Park, 5:30 to 7:30FREE Bagpipe Concert at Heritage Square, 6:00 to 7:00FREE Piping School Pub Night at the Weatherford Hotel 23 N. Leroux St., downstairs at 7ishSession night with Runa and Zac Leger at the Weatherford Hotel 23 N. Leroux St., upstairs at 8ishThursday Night 7/17Concert with Zac Leger and friends at 7:30 at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church. Tickets at olives wild, arizona music pro and online on www.livingtraditionspresentations.comFREE Piping School Recital Night, students and instructors, Ashurst Hall NAU Campus at 7pmFriday Night 7/18 FREE Concert, Heritage Square, 6pm to 8pmCeltic Spirits Tasting…7:30ish Uptown Pubhouse, 114 North Leroux – limited number - $30Runa in concert. 8:00pm. Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church. Tickets at olives wild, arizona music pro and online on www.livingtraditionspresentations.comKnockabouts at Weatherford Hotel, 8 PMSaturday Night 7/16 Whisky and Celtic Sweeties at 7pm at the Weatherford Hotel, 23 N. Leroux St., limited seating - $35Celtic Ceilidh at 8pm at the Weatherford Hotel, 23 N. Leroux St. …cover charge $5

Hard Times, 2009 Originally titled “Holy Water”, this is a frivolous bit of nonsense to watch of an afternoon, have a chuckle and commiserate about how the economy can be shite in other countries as well as our own. Taking place in the burgh of Kilcoulins Leap, Ireland, a group of four wankers who are struggling with their lot in life, make plans to hijack a truckload of Viagra. The local Pfizer plant that makes the little blue wonder sends a shipment right through their world on a regular basis. The comedy of these four eejits running about gathering assorted supplies, etc. for their robbery attempt is amusing in its own right. They plan to divert and rob the goods and smuggle them to Amsterdam, where they can sell them on the black market. Although not going quite to plan they do manage to make off with the goods and end up secreting them in the local “Holy Well” when they are soon being pursued by Pfizer’s elite security forces armed with a locater for the transponder that was inside the pinched drugs. Needless to say the results of having the Viagra filtering into the local drinking water has the expected results and soon the town is engulfed in an ever growing wave of amorous activity. It seems the only two not really affected are two old timers who sit around drinking nothing but Guinness, go figure. Although they don’t benefit from the drug as they had intended, the “Four Playboys” as their Hoolie band is known, do reap a reward, as does the entire village. Pfizer, neither endorsed this movie, nor did they supply any of the real deal. Hard to believe! Streams on Netflix. Slainte, Richard McKenzie

Grand Canyon Celtic Arts Academy is a project of Northern Arizona Celtic Heritage Society that was started in 2009 by Kari Barton, 2012 Viola Music Award Winner. Our mission is to provide the highest quality education in the Celtic arts each July in Flagstaff. Our instructors are members of national and international touring bands. This year, our instructors are the members of Runa, based in Philadelphia and Zac Léger, based in Los Angeles. They will be offering instruction in whistle/flute, bodhrán, auxiliary percussion, fiddle, guitar, singing, Irish dance, sound production, songwriting, Irish language, bouzouki, and tenor banjo/mandolin. Beginning classes are available in language, dance, whistle, auxiliary percussion, and bodhrán. Teen and Adult Classes will take place July 15-17on the beautiful campus of Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy, in the shadow of the San Francisco Peaks. Students can register for up to three daytime classes or try something new with our Tuesday evening workshops (7-9pm). All ages and abilities are welcome to attend, though some classes do require prior experience! Children’s classes will take place July 14-18 between 9:30am and 4:30pm. They are open to all levels and ages 7-12. Children will learn fiddle, whistle, percussion, dance, singing, and Irish language. In addition to the classes and workshops, Grand Canyon Celtic Arts Academy will host a music session on Wednesday evening in the Zane Grey Bar, a concert with Zac Léger Thursday evening and a concert with Runa Friday evening, both at Shepherd of the Hills Church. For more information on classes and registration, please visit www.GrandCanyonCelticArts.org.

Living Traditions Presentations is excited to continue its 5th annual Summer Celtic Concert Series on July 17 and 18, 2014! This series began in 2010 with a concert by Myserk and is in conjunction with Grand Canyon Celtic Arts Academy and Northern Arizona Celtic Heritage Society. Last year, we expanded the number of concerts. This year, we will be presenting 2 concerts with Zac Léger and Runa. On July 17 at 7:30pm, Zac Léger will perform with his musical friends to be announced. This talented multi-instrumentalist has performed with some of the greatest names in Celtic music including John Whelan and The Dhucks. Come hear what Zac has in store; it’s sure to be amazing! On July 18 at 8:00pm, Philadelphia-based Runa will astound the audience with their amazing arrangements of songs and tunes. Last year, Runa filmed a music video at the Grand Canyon that you should check out on YouTube! Shannon Lambert-Ryan’s vocals will transport you to Ireland and Scotland and you’ll be tapping your toes to the lively tunes played by Maggie Estes on fiddle, Dave Curley on mandolin, Fionan de Barra on guitar, and Cheryl Prashker on percussion. Tickets for each concert are $20 in advance and $22 at the door. Children under 18 are half price. If you purchase tickets for both concerts in advance, the price is just $30 for adults and $15 for children under 18. Tickets are available at Olives Wild (next to Bookman’s) and Arizona Music Pro (downtown). For more information visit www.livingtraditionspresentations.com or call 928-600-1365 after July 5.

3 Ways to Celebrate Flagstaff’‛s

CELTIC WEEK

Friday, July 18 Uptown Pubhouse

114 North Leroux Street

Single Malt Scotch, Irish Whiskey &

Scottish Gin Sampling

7:30 PM $30 per person (over 21 years of age)

Only 30 tickets will be sold at bar on first come basis.

Light hors d’‛oeuvres served

Saturday, July 19 Weatherford Hotel – Zane Grey Ballroom

23 North Leroux Street

Celtic Desserts & Scotch Single Malts

7:00 PM

$35/person (over 21 years of age) Seating limited to 30.

For tickets, call 928.556.3161.

Malts: Bunnahabhain 12 (Islay)

Aberlour a’‛Bunadh 12 (Speyside) Dalwhinnie 15 (Highlands)

Isle of Arran (Islands) Glenkinchie 10 (Lowlands)

Celtic Desserts:

Asturian apple tarts Breton butter cake

Cornish fairing biscuits Galician almond snaps

Irish chocolate potato cake Manx peel flapjack Scottish shortbread

Welsh cakes

Irish cheese and fresh fruit served

Saturday & Sunday July 19 & 20

Foxglenn Park 4200 East Butler Avenue

Arizona Highland Celtic Festival

Saturday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM Sunday: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

All details & prices at:

www.nachs.info

From the editor,

This is the 13th Arizona Highland Celtic Festival that I will be attending, so I thought I would share some reasons why I enjoy it so much. Of course, as a Knockabout, the opportunity to perform to an audience that truly values Celtic music is great. Far too many times musicians are performing at bars or events where they are competing with many distractions and become just a "side show," so playing for an appreciative audience is very rewarding. My other favorite event is the Tug O' War. Although I am unable to participate due to my performance obligations (and a bad back) I thoroughly enjoy watching my friends as they put everything they have into it. Prior to the event starting, there is quite a bit of beer and spirits fueling the friendly competition and joking amongst the participants and onlookers. It is a snapshot of what makes Flagstaff such a great place to live, and the Tug O' War so much fun for me. Finally, I have to say that the Friday before the festival is an exciting time for me, as well. The energy and ancipation in the air is obvious, and the "can do" attitude of the volunteers is reassuring as we all do our best to make sure everything is in place for the weekend. Sure there are glitches and dissapointments and frustrations, but it all seems to come together. So whatever "blows your kilt up" about the Celtic Festival, I hope you get a chance to enjoy it again.

Slainte,John McGregor

The Girl Who Came Home: A Novel of the Titanic by Hazel Gaynor

On April 11, 1912, fourteen people from Addergoole, County Mayo, Ireland, set out for the port at Queenstown. Their goal was a new life in America, via the RMS Titanic. What came of that journey was the largest loss of life, per capita, of any region represented among the Titanic’s passengers. 11 of the 14 people from the small town of Addergoole did not survive the voyage. The Girl Who Came Home is a dramatized account of the Addergoole 14. Despite their devastating loss, the story of this small Irish village has been overshadowed amongst the myriad of Titanic tales. Gaynor, in her first novel, recounts the journey of Maggie Murphy, a fictionalized survivor of the Titanic tragedy. As a stand-alone novel, Gaynor’s work shows many signs of a “maiden voyage.” At times, her prose runs to pedantic, while her plot line becomes slightly convoluted. However, as a novelized account of Irish history, the book is an interesting addition. So many versions of the Titanic tragedy have been done, in novels, films, and documentaries. But the story of the Addergoole 14 is one of the most tragic tales to come of this historic disaster. For anyone interested in history, and looking for a quick summer “beach read”, The Girl Who Came Home is worth the read.

Jacquie McGregor

A bird in the hand is worth ten fleein'.

A day to come seems longer than a year that's gone.

A fu' purse never lacks friends.

A fool may earn money, but it takes a wise man to keep it.

A good tale never tires in the telling.