(Please note that the language of the Jam sessions will be English, and there will be many opportunities to speak Gaelic during meal times, céilidhean | visits, and in spontaneous connections. Non-Gaelis speakers and all levels of language learners are very welcome. )
Beannachdan oirbh! | Greetings friend!
It is our honour to invite you to apply to participate in the 10th Anniversary Nova Scotia Gaels Jam! This Jam will connect 25 diverse, engaged, and committed leaders from across Nova Scotia and beyond for a week of deep listening, sharing, self-discovery, systemic inquiry, and community building.
This Jam will take place at the Tatamagouche Centre in beautiful Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia over the course of six days - February 15 through February 20th. We will arrive at Tatamagouche Centre at 2pm on Thursday February 15th where we will get aquainted with the space, one another and what to expect from the Jam. We will have three sessions per day from the 16-19 and on the morning of the 20th we'll pack up, have breafkast together and depart. Each faciliated session will be between 2 & 2.5 hours. There will be lots of time in between sessions for breaks, meals, visiting, and spontaneous sessions co-created by participants.
These past years have presented many unexpected changes and challenges and new opportuinities. It would seem that the need for healthy, resilliant and connected communities is more applicable than ever. With such rapid changes both in the world and in our Gaelic communities, Am bi e 'cur iongnaidh ort ... ? | Have you ever wondered ... ?
Who am I and how do I find meaning in a society where everything seems to be for sale?
Is there room for the songs, stories, and wisdom of our ancestors? Can what is ancient help us build resilience right now?
How can I create space for community within busy lives and a disconnected world? How do I nurture deep human-to-human connections while the world seems ever more divided?
What does it mean to be a Gael? What can I learn about my heritages and ancestors that might support me, root me down, and help me thrive in 2023?
How do we recognize and make space for the diversity within Gaelic communities - along race, gender, sexuality, class, religion?
How has colonization impacted the aliveness of our languages? How can language be a practice of decolonization?
What are the ways Gaels have participated in colonization here in North America and how do we work as allies with Indigenous Peoples?
How can I make space for, hold, and unpack the impacts of intergenerational trauma?
How do we honour and connect with the places we find ourselves, even if this is not where our ancestors called home?
If so, you are not alone in your wondering! We would be honoured to reflect and dream with you this February.
The Gaels' Jam provides the time and space to have these discussions with a group of talented facilitators and peers. And it will be a great chance to spend time in fellowship with Gaels celebrating Gaelic culture and language!
Le deagh dhùrachd is gaol, | With best wishes and love,
Alison Etter, Shannon MacMullin, Heather Foran, Amber Buchanan & Roan Coughtry
Jamag am Baile Sheumais, an Dàmhair 2018 | Mini Gaels Jam in Jamesville, October 2018
Jamag an Cnoc an t-Sithein, an t-Samhainn 2017 | Mini Gaels Jam - In Gaelic! - Nov 2017
The Jam is not a conference, seminar or a typical meeting. It is a time to build friendship, community, and connection. Together, we will explore life’s big questions, take an honest, courageous and loving look at the struggles we face as human beings living in these times, and take steps to reclaim our cultural identity in a positive way. We will slow down and take time for vulnerability, truth-telling, risk-taking, and deep listening. The Jam is a unique opportunity to engage in deep conversation on a level that is rare in our societies.
During our time together, we will reflect on the personal, interpersonal, and systemic levels:
Gu pearsanta | On the personal level, we reflect on our life journeys and what makes us who we are today. We’ll grow in self-knowledge, face our fears, access our hearts, and open our minds to move more boldly in the world. It is a time to recharge and renew and to experience self-care and personal sustainability.
Ri chéile | On the interpersonal level, we come together to share our culture, our stories and our struggles, to deepen our understanding of each other and of ourselves. We explore the ways in which we work together to effectively move through moments of difficulty and conflict.
Gu bunaiteach | On the systemic level, we will seek to become clearer about our vision and work in our communities and the world. We will link issues that aren’t commonly linked, notice crucial intersection points, and get a clearer picture of the whole. In turn, we hope each participant will feel deepened and renewed in their capacity to affect meaningful positive change and carry their dreams forward.
Bha a' chiad Chaidreabh | The first Nova Scotia Gaels' Jam was held in 2013, on the North Shore of Cape Breton. Gaels from across Nova Scotia gathered to create community and share their hopes, longings, wisdom, struggles, and strengths. Since then, we have hosted Nova Scotia Gaels' Jams in 2014, 2015, and 2019, as well as mini-Jams (Jamagan) in 2016, 2017, 2018, at various locations in Nova Scotia, as well as online in 2021 & 2022. We have drawn strength from being together. And we have dreamed of sharing the experience with Gaels in other parts of Canada, in Scotland, Ireland, the US, and around the world as well as other minority language groups.
Bidh Caidreabh nan Gàidheil | The 2024 Gaels' Jam will be a time to gather again in person for the magic that transpires from a six day residential Jam. We will explore our identity as Gaels, assess this pivotal time we're in, co-create, process, heal, dream and expand ourselves and our connections to one another, the earth and our ancestry.
Bring your questions, your longings, your struggles, your hopes. We will learn from one another as we work together for transformation of our communities and our world.
Có dha a tha an Caidreabh? | Who is the Nova Scotia Gaels Jam for?
YOU are invited to submit an application today.
We are eager to learn from and with Nova Scotians and Gaels from around the world. We are creating our most diverse jam yet. If any of these describe you, we welcome you to apply:
You’re a Gaelic speaker or learner from anywhere in the world wanting to connect more deeply with the Gaelic community and tradition. (All levels of language learners are welcome, from fluent to “I just started Duolingo last week…”!)
You feel a connection to Gaelic music, culture, and identity, even if you don't speak the language.
You’re a Nova Scotian who’s curious about your ancestry and identity, and how you might fit in the Gaelic community.
You’re Mi'kmaw, Acadian, African Nova Scotian, or part of one of the hundreds of minority language and cultural communities that make up our province and you’re wanting to be in community with others seeking to strengthen connection to culture in these times.
You’re new to Nova Scotia and wanting to build community and learn more about this place and its history.
You’re a person longing to connect with others on a human-to-human level.
At the Jam, your whole self will be welcomed: all of your identities, experiences, hurts, and hopes. We are longing to connect with you. Please apply!
Nova Scotia Gaels Jam 2019, Tatamagouche
We encourage you to submit your application here.
Priority deadline: December 15, 2023
Final deadline: January 15. 2024
** During the Jam we ask each participant to commit to refraining from using any illegal drugs, alcohol, or marijuana during the Jam. We do not judge the use of these substances. Rather, we want to create the clearest and most focused space possible for our community. By committing to these sessions, you are agreeing to honour this agreement. Please reach out if you have any questions, concerns, or require the use of marijuana medicinally.
We will not have typical facilitators, as the facilitation team will also be participating in full, as “facilitants” (facilitator-participants). None of us come with all of the answers. Instead, we will co-create the space together — using circles, conversations, spiritual practice, artistic expression, movement, silence, and play — to explore our questions, bring more of our whole selves to our answers, raise new questions, and use the depth and power of the experiences and knowledge in the room.
Shannon began Jamming in 2013 and has since facilitated several Jams and mini-Jams, including an all-Gàidhlig weekend, and attended the North American Jam in California in 2016. She believes Jamming offers an all-important opportunity to connect in community, to work through conflict together, to play, to listen and to share. She loves time with the family and remembering how to play with the little grandboys keeps her feeling young. She is on a journey to become a good ancestor. She loves laughing, dancing, and learning. She's passionate about celebrating Gàidhlig language and culture and creating spaces for Gaels to gather.
Heather is an ever-aspiring community organizer, facilitator, educator, and gardener. As a white, middle class, queer person she has committed to living and working where she grew up in southern Maine – and because of that is constantly learning about change: in herself, in her community, and the land around her. Heather currently works at the Cooperative Development Institute supporting workers to convert existing businesses to worker cooperatives. She is also a member and board member of the Southern Maine Workers’ Center and the Restaurant Workers’ Coalition. Since she was a teenager, her life has had many iterations of leaving and coming home – she co-founded the Field Academy, a travel-based high school program that explores critical social and environmental issues in regions of the United States. Heather went to her first jam in 2007 and since then jamming has shaped and continues to expand what she believes is possible.
Roan is a writer, facilitator, and healing artist hailing from Atlanta, GA. With a background in somatics, social work and other healing modalities, their work weaves together social justice, ancestral healing, embodied practice, and the liberatory power of desire. For 15 years Roan has facilitated healing spaces on mental health, sexual liberation, and collective healing and transformation. As a queer and trans sex educator, they center the importance of pleasure, desire, and reclamation of the body as essential practices toward healing and freedom. They’re a co-founder of the national Sexual Liberation Collective, and in 2019 they joined the Decolonize Race Project, an Indigenous-led effort to align humanity away from greed, extraction and disconnection to sacred connection. Roan works individually with clients as a coach and healing artist, and they work specifically with white folks around ancestral healing and co-creating white anti-racist culture and practices. They’re a student of herbalism, Scottish Gaelic, transformative justice, and Celtic mythology and folklore. You can find out more about their work at www.roancoughtry.com.
Rehana Tejpar is a facilitator, leadership coach & movement artist, supporting people seeking to deepen in connection with their authentic leadership, wholeness, vision and intuition in a holistic way. She brings over 15 years of experience designing and facilitating transformative journeys with individuals and organizations, and is a founder at Bloom Consulting, strengthening the creative and collaborative brilliance of teams to move forward wisely and inclusively, together. She is a practitioner of InterPlay, Authentic Movement, Theatre of the Oppressed, Art of Hosting Conversations that Matter, Sacred Clowning & Dialogue for Peaceful Change. She lives in Montreal and has been jamming since 2013.
If there’s one thing Alison dislikes, it’s writing a biography! But, nevertheless, here’s a bit about her: She grew up in Lunenburg County, was ordained as a United Church minister in 2011, and immediately moved to Cape Breton. Then she started right away working on learning Gaelic in the community. It’s a weird time to be a minister; churches are really struggling to be relevant in today’s world. But Alison believes the things that drew her to the role are really universal: a desire to connect deeply on a human level, compassion, patience, and a willingness to listen, and a vibrant vision of a future filled with healing and hope. A few things Alison loves: reading, singing, talking to kids, looking at seaweed and other treasures on the beach. (On January 1, 2022, she was walking on the beach and a guy had his disabled parrot with him and the splash of bright colour was so amazing she hasn’t stopped thinking about it.) Alison attended the first Gaels Jam in 2013 and was so thankful for the opportunity to explore life’s challenges on a meaningful level. And she is so excited to welcome you to this 10th Anniversary Gaels Jam.
Amber is a committed and engaged leader in the Gaelic community and has been learning and sharing her language and culture for the past 17 years. She has an unwavering passion and gift for bringing people together to find deep connection, compassion, understanding, healing, and growth. Amber draws upon her Gaelic roots as well as many international experiences and connections for strength and guidance in the work she does. She's been jamming for the past 13 years in Canada, the USA, Mexico, India, Thailand and Egypt.
This Jam will take place over the course of six days, spanning February 15 through February 20, 2024.
Cost: We are deeply grateful to receive support for this event from the Nova Scotia Office of Gaelic Affairs a devision of Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism, and Heritage. This allows us to offer the Jam at an affordable and flexible rate. We are committed to fairly compensating our organizers and facilitators while keeping this event as accessible as possible - especially while the costs of so many things continue to go up. Thank you in advance for your support!
Regular cost: The (subsidized) cost of the Jam, including accommodation, meals, and facilitation, is $585. This includes the entire cost of your lodging and delicious food for the week, as well as all programming, Jam sessions, evening ceilidhs and more. The only costs not included are transportation to and from Nova Scotia/ the Tatamagouche center.
We need your help!: Your donation above the base cost will help us offer scholarships and bursaries to those who can’t afford the full cost. Your donation will be warmly and gratefully received. Please thoughtfully consider what you are able to give. All donations are tax-deductible.
If you need support: We really hope money will not be a barrier to your attending the Jam. If this amount feels like a barrier to your participation, please reach out to us so we can talk possibilities, including payment plans. We’d love to find a way to make it work so that you can attend.
Location: The Jam will be held at the beautiful Tatamagouche Centre in Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia. The property features comfortable common rooms, a labyrinth, walking trails, and scenic views. Accommodation is mostly in shared rooms. Private rooms are available for an additional cost of $150.
NS Gaels Jam in Mabou 2015
First EVER Gaels Jam on the North Shore 2013
Nova Scotia Gaels Jam 2014 Participants and Community Members
We are happy to tell you more about the Jam, share our experiences, and answer any questions you have. Please email us with any thoughts or questions.
Nova Scotia Gaels Jam gratefully recognizes the support of the Office of Gaelic Affairs, Communities, Culture, Tourism & Heritage. We also acknowledge with deep gratitude the support of Highland Village Museum. We are pleased to work in co-operation with these partners to design and create opportunities to work with the Nova Scotia Gaelic community to celebrate Gaelic language and culture, strengthen our community in growing and learning together.
Seoige NicDhòmhnaill agus Màiri ni’n Ailig Bhig Alasdair Òig, Bun is Bàrr 2011.
Joyce MacDonald and Mary (MacDonald) MacKinnon, Master Apprentice Program 2011.
We honour, remember and deeply thank our elder Gaelic tradition bearers, past and present, who have shared their homes, time, language, culture, spirit and so much more with us - so that we can continue to celebrate our heritage, speak & share Gàidhlig and build community. The friendships we have created will be treasured, cherished and remembered always.
Tha sinn fada 'nur comain. | We are deeply in your debt.