Rapalje
This weekend, we visited the Celtic Midsummer Festival, hosted by Rapalje: one of our favourite bands. It was again an absolute pleasure, well worth the relatively long drive to Bad-Nieuweschans, in the very north-east corner of The Netherlands, on the German border.
This was the fourth time that we visited this village for such a celebration. The previous occasion was during Yule, on December 21st, to honour the winter solstice with music, dance, good food and the peaceful feeling of being among kindred spirits.
Certainly adding to the atmosphere of celebrating this festival of the ancient is the presence of "the cooking highlander", who prepares all sorts of tasty dishes on an open fire, served on ceramic plates with an embossed Rapalje logo, which is then generally eaten by hand. Beer and mead are served in earthenware cups, also prominently decorated with the logo of Rapalje.
Ever since we first encountered this band, it has usually been presented as "Rapalje, featuring David Myles". Rapalje plays Irish, Scottish and Dutch folk music, using the fiddle, tin whistle, gitouki, squeezebox, mouth organ, bodhrán and tea-chest bass. David Myles is mostly known to accompany the band with his bagpipes, although he also produces the most cheerful tunes from the tin whistle.
And to formally welcome David Myles as member of Rapalje, a 2009 edition of the Fyndlingh was issued, forged with a picture of bagpipes. Fyndlinghs are the official currency during Rapalje-hosted festivals. Earlier copies show a fiddle (2004) and a squeezebox (2005).
Over the years, the festival in Bad-Nieuweschans has been experiencing growing interest. And among various Celtic historic living communities and several new merchant stands, this summer we were happy to also greet Pygmalion: a friendly vendor with his own workshop, who creates and markets the most beautiful and fantastic goods. Last year, we attended a moulding class in his atelier, where we created our own fantasy figurine, about which I may elaborate more during a future journal entry.
All in all, it was another weekend to cherish in remembrance and while writing this journal entry, I took a peek at the venue calendar of Bad-Nieuweschans. The next Yule celebration will take place December 19th and 20th. I can hardly wait to order tickets!
To learn more:
Rapalje (the official Rapalje website)
The Myles Brothers (website of David Myles and his brothers)
Rapalje at Castlefest (one of my earlier journal entries about this band, containing photos)
The Cooking Highlander (website of this mediaeval-style cuisinier)
Pygmalion (website of both the shop and the atelier)
(links open in a new window)