Red Thistle Quarantine Ceilidh, 8/21/20

After sheltering in place since early March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and requirements to social distance, Red Thistle was very early on able to mount regular rehearsals of both the highland and country dance classes on our regular Thursday nights, hosted on Zoom by Kevin Lesko and run by our wonderful Dance Directors, Fred DeMarse and Kamrin MacKnight, accompanied by Red Thistle Music.

After almost a half a year in this mode, as a reward and an evening of diversion, Red Thistle hosted a Quarantine Online Ceilidh for the Red Thistle family.

As a historical note, this ended up being the same week following world record breaking hot temperatures and a dry lightning storm in California which provoked one of the largest wildfire outbreaks in California for the past two decades. As this blog entry is being posted, the fires are still burning and are uncontained.

Regardless, the evening was full of dance, music, and humourous sketches from Red Thistle members and former members with some special audience guests, including members of Jonathan Lovell's family.

Visit the private page at: https://www.redthistledancers.org/ceilidh for pictures and the program.

After notices:

Well done everyone, Jennifer and I enjoyed it all, and it was great to see everyone. I particularly want to thank Kevin for putting this on, and the large amount of work it entailed.  I am sure you (Kevin) had help, but I know this was a lot of work especially with the quirks of Zoom. But without zoom it would have been even more difficult.

It was great to see so many people participating. Did I see 37 connections which probably meant about 50 people or even more? It was a wonderful surprise to see the Highlanders at work with Fred singing (????). Alan's singing greatly impressed us, as well as the charming story, which we had not previously heard. The wide variety of the performances was most impressive. What talent lies in this group! Lin’s new persona was fabulous! Shall we see beard & pipe again? Sue was great; Viki’s project was wonderful. If it is ever finished we want a copy of the CD. All the music was great, thanks Susan, Lyle and Michael; what a treat to hear Stephen playing the pipes again, especially the small pipes. It would be very interesting to have a zoom session in which he could show us his pipes and tell us about them & how they are made.  Red Thistle Music was phenomenal; I know what lengths they went to in order to get the sound so good; Calli's harp piece was a most refreshing change. We wish there had been more! But two hours just flew by! We actually got the Zoom session plugged into our good sound system and the music was crystal clear. What a grand finale to have Deborah and Jaimie with their Toast to the Lassies - let’s do it again sometime!

John & Jennifer

Hello Everyone,

I VERY MUCH enjoyed the Ceilidh last night!  What a great evening of talent, fun and togetherness!

It was a special treat to see alumni and friends whom we haven’t seen in a while!  Thank you all for the Chat comments during the ceilidh!

Musicians – Susan, Lyle, Michael, Calli, Stephen – GREAT job!  Loved all the musical selections!  AND it was a very special bonus seeing and hearing Stephen!

Ceilidh contributors – Thank you ALL for your contributions!  The poems, the story, the DVDs, the singing, the dancing – we have such talent among our group and extended family!

Kathleen – LOVED seeing you and having you lead the singing and the cheer at the end.  ABSOLUTELY wonderful!

Deborah and Jamie (and Dale) – Very clever and eloquent toasts!  Thank you!

Kevin and Deborah – THANK YOU for organizing and hosting!  What an incredible feat!

Thank you all for participating and contributing!  It was a great evening of family and fun!!!

Take care.  Be safe.  Back to rehearsal next week!

Fred