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Saturday, 22 May 2004 |
A fabulous review of the festival ceilidh from Larry Jenkins at the Northern News paper.
"I looked around the hall last Saturday night and thought it was one of
those rare times in my life I didn’t want to be anywhere else. Where?
In Kohukohu Memorial Hall, surrounded by dancing dervishes of all ages,
from about three to ninety-three. The band was playing full tilt, the
shouting and clapping was deafening; there was such electricity in the
air, shared by all..."
"The annual Hokianga Celtic Festival had come to it’s inevitable climax
with the ceilidh, or ceili if you will, and it seemed at that instant
that God was in his heaven and all was well in a world besieged by
troubles. There were backpackers from at least five nations, doing
their best to keep up with the more seasoned Kiwi veterans of these
occasions, as the band played ever faster, the sets and reels gradually
having to be got through at a pace that had people cheerfully
colliding, no-one minding in the least.
Some of the women and teenage girls were dressed in long, flowing
dresses; some of the men made an effort too, with colourful waistcoats,
kilts, berets and bow ties. In the supper room there was a stink of a
lorry that had recently been used to transport sheep, parked under the
open windows.
Children were everywhere, dancing or running about, and at the end of
each dance the floor cleared, the dancers took seats ringing the walls,
and waited for the demonstration of their next challenge. The
directions were often drowned by the murmur of excitement, but no one
gave a figgy pudding. Up they got and launched themselves into the
unknown, some of the dudes so energetic in their excitement that their
feet scarcely ever touched the floor.
Last year, when I reported on this festival, I had to miss the party,
but now I see why this event is so eagerly anticipated by the residents
over on the western side of the Far North.
Kohukohu, of course is the ideal setting for it. The place is a
national treasure, a time warp. On both sides of the strange harbour
are places almost untouched by modern life. Mobile phone signals are
hard to find, few people can receive more than two television channels,
there is no supermarket, and there exists a feeling of community so
strong you can cut it with a knife. Everyone knows everyone, and no one
is allowed to be a stranger for more than five minutes.
Dr. Nigel Robertson is a very busy anaesthesiologist from Auckland and
has been coming to play in the band for the Kohukohu ceilidh for years.
He wouldn’t miss it. He just got off the plane from an extensive trip
including a conference in Paris and eagerly embarked on his annual
pilgrimage with family in tow. His daughters, Claire and Kirsty, played
the Irish harp for us on one of the few rest breaks we were allowed,
and Nigel and the other members of the band played tirelessly on for
four hours.
They were helped by Green Ginger, a wonderful group from Whangarei
whose mediaeval/celtic fusion numbers and the middle eastern folk
dances they brought to the floor, led by June Jacobson, made an
interesting contrast the more frantic Celtic formations.
I can’t praise Louise Evans enough. She and her helpers did an
admirable job putting this on, and it isn’t the first time she’s done
so. A special word of praise for Diane Mikkelson for her impressive
singing and her amazing musicianship, accompanying herself at a
keyboard and backing the group of ladies who sang Amazing Grace – and
all of it- in Gaelic.
There’ll be another one next year, and if you want time to stand still
and a wonderful feeling of well-being to invade your spirit, don’t sit
at home. Get over to Kohukohu.
Life is a Cabaret." |
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