Some of Cape Breton Island’s best dancers come from the culturally-rich and vibrant Acadian community of Chéticamp, located along the Cabot Trail. This is where the famous southeast winds, known as les suête, blow strong onshore, and it is the home of local youth dance troupe La Swing du Suête. Composed of dancers aged 10 to 17, La Swing du Suête has been celebrating and showcasing the rich cultural heritage of the region, through traditional and contemporary step dancing, since 1997. Over that time, the troupe has made quite an impact on the local dance scene, as well as the community itself, which will be evident when Les Étoiles Acadiennes take the stage. This new dance troupe is comprised of La Swing du Suête alumni who aged out of the youth group but wanted to continue to dance. The local dancers will welcome Christiane Theriault and Lorie-Lynn Comeau, from the Acadian community of Clare on mainland Nova Scotian, who share a similar style of dance. Dancing and music go hand-in-hand, so we’ve lined up some crackerjack local players and a new trio from Québec, Newfoundland, and Antigonish County to keep things moving.

And if you’re looking for somewhere to eat after the concert, you’ve got two local choices: A homemade Acadian meal of chicken fricot and Acadian meat pie or a three-course meal rooted in tradition.