We are delighted to announce the return of the live and in person ACGA Scottish Gaelic Song & Language Week held near Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina. This year’s event will be held from Sunday, July 3 to Friday, July 8 at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, North Carolina, featuring four days of instruction with several classes a day to choose from.

Registration is now open at https://acga.wufoo.com/forms/grandfather-mtn-gaelic-song-language-week-2022/

The costs are listed on the registration form. The GS&LW will be followed on Saturday by the North Carolina Provincial Gaelic Mòd, a song competition, held at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, in Linville, North Carolina.

This year’s instructors are Màiri MacInnes, Stacey MacLean, and Jason Bond, who teach Scottish Gaelic in Scotland, Canada, and the United States, respectively.

Màiri MacInnes

Màiri was born in Baghasdail a Tuath (North Boisdale) in South Uist, one of Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. In 1982, she became one of the youngest winners of the prestigious Gold Medal at Scotland’s Royal National Mòd. Màiri has recorded several solo albums of Gaelic songs and she has been closely involved in Gaelic television programming. In 2001, she was asked by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to teach Gaelic Song for the Traditional Music Degree Course which she continues to teach to this day.

Listen to a lovely example of mouth music by Màiri: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XikyTHSaFSk

Stacey MacLean

Stacey MacLean hails from the central Cape Breton community of MacKinnon’s Harbour. She began learning Gaelic from a young age, immersing herself as much as possible in the language and culture. Stacey, or Steiseag as she is known in the Gaelic community, has worked with the language in various capacities including teaching and research in both community and institutional realms. She currently works at the Gaelic medium school in Mabou, Cape Breton. In addition, she teaches adult classes and is a mentor for Na Gaisgaich Oga, a program aimed at immersing youth in Gaelic language and culture. During the summer, Stacey can be found at the Highland Village Museum in Iona, Cape Breton as a Gaelic heritage interpreter.

Jason Bond

Jason Bond is from Kennebunkport, Maine. In high school, he discovered a deep appreciation for the culture of Ireland and Scotland. Traditional music filled his music collection and he learned to play the harp. Stories of the Fairy Folk and great heroes like Cù Chulainn and the Fianna burned in his imagination. He had to learn more, so he followed these stories to Nova Scotia, Canada, where he completed a BA with First Class Honours in Celtic Studies. Gaelic had become such an important part of Jason’s life that he felt motivated to share it with others. After completing a Bachelors in Secondary Education with a focus on Gaelic, he shipped off to Scotland to teach Gaelic in a rural high school in the Isle of Islay.

He spent five years teaching in Scotland before returning to North America. Since returning to Maine, Jason has developed quite a following with his Internet Gaelic classes, Gaelic With Jason, at https://gaelicwithjason.thinkific.com/. Here is a sample of his teaching:anhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kKmuKVunck. Jason is also a Gaelic author. His publications include two short novels for Gaelic learners – Ròna agus MacCodruim and Deirdre agus an Rìgh.

We’re excited to welcome Màiri back to our Gaelic Song & Language Week, and to bring Stacey and Jane to North Carolina for the first time. We’re also excited to be holding a live event after two successful virtual Gaelic Song & Language Weeks in 2020 and 2021. We hope to see you at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk this July!

Jason Bond

Jason Bond is from Kennebunkport, Maine. In high school, he discovered a deep appreciation for the culture of Ireland and Scotland. Traditional music filled his music collection and he learned to play the harp. Stories of the Fairy Folk and great heroes like Cù Chulainn and the Fianna burned in his imagination. He had to learn more, so he followed these stories to Nova Scotia, Canada, where he completed a BA with First Class Honours in Celtic Studies. Gaelic had become such an important part of Jason’s life that he felt motivated to share it with others. After completing a Bachelors in Secondary Education with a focus on Gaelic, he shipped off to Scotland to teach Gaelic in a rural high school in the Isle of Islay. He spent five years teaching in Scotland before returning to North America. Since returning to Maine, Jason has developed quite a following with his Internet Gaelic classes, Gaelic With Jason, at https://gaelicwithjason.thinkific.com/. Here is a sample of his teaching:anhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kKmuKVunck. Jason is also a Gaelic author. His publications include two short novels for Gaelic learners – Ròna agus MacCodruim and Deirdre agus an Rìgh.

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