© 2004-2007 J. Beau Buffington
Dancers dancing, pipers piping and good cheer galore were found in abundance in downtown Springfield on Saturday, December 11th when Pat Dennis and her Celtic Fire dance group presented a ceili ("kay-lee") or traditional celebration of Celtic music and dance at As Good As It Gets Cafe, 310 S. Campbell. This event was free and open to the public and was attended by an estimated 175 people.
Solo dance performances were provided by Eileen Clark of Harrison, Arkansas and Shannon McKaig of Springfield. As one observer commented, "This was a festive, family atmosphere with no smoke and no drinking." Music for the event was provided by an assortment of talented, local instrumentalists. Representing varied musical traditions and playing a variety of unusual musical instruments, the musicians and their respective instruments were as follows: Steve Widders on guitar and also an original, stringed instrument of his own creation; Marti Knauer, national autoharp champion; Linda Widders on concertina and whistle; Beau Buffington on Highland bagpipes, Scottish smallpipes, whistle and Irish uilleann bagpipes; Caven Clark on uilleann bagpipes, smallpipes and whistle; Elissa Dey on fiddle; and Vicki Buffington on bodhran, which is an Irish frame drum. Special musical guests included Nancy Daily-Green, hammered dulcimer player and vocalist, Douglas and Kayli Lowe of the Lowe Family at the Welk Resort Theatre in Branson and Laurel McKean, highland bagpipe student.
Beau Buffington, highland piping teacher and performer for 18 years, comments that the ceili has been a focal point for community in Celtic cultures for centuries and adds, "Since some of the first settlers in the Ozarks were of Scots-Irish descent, we would like to foster the continuation of this important tradition in our community." Audience members were given an opportunity to join several dances, and were treated to a first-hand glimpse of several unusual musical instruments such as three types of bagpipes native to the British Isles and Widders' octagonal-shaped stringed instrument, the "bougieman," as feature in the September 15, 2004 Community Free Press. Organizers have set a tentative date for the next event for January, 2005.
