Blue Mountain is situated southeast of Glendale and served as inspiration for the beautiful contemporary Gaelic song “Blue Mountain’s Lullaby” [Tàladh Na Beinne Guirme] written by Cape Breton Gaelic singer Goiridh Dòmhnallach and Brian Ó hEadhra from the Scottish Highlands, following a collaboration during Celtic Colours in 2024. While the lyrics chronicle the arrival, success, and decline of Gaelic settlers and their way of life in the region, Glendale remains a stronghold of Gaelic culture on Cape Breton Island. The area is well-steeped in Gaelic language and traditions, and the hall in Glendale has been an important gathering place for music and dance for generations. The community has always held their culture and heritage in high regard here with Glendale being the site of the first Festival of Cape Breton Fiddling in 1973. The fiddles will ring out again this afternoon with prominent Cape Breton fiddlers Glenn Graham and Rodney MacDonald accompanied on guitar and piano by Patrick Gillis and Jackie Dunn MacIsaac. Pine Tree Flyers wrap up their second visit to Celtic Colours with tunes from the New England style that is rooted in the Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton, and Quebecois traditions maintained by settlers in that region of the northeastern United States. Cape Breton Gaelic singer Mary Jane Lamond, who recorded “Blue Mountain’s Lullaby” with fiddler Wendy MacIsaac on their 2012 album Seinn, completes the Blue Mountain’s Céilidh lineup with a selection of Gaelic songs.