Local musicians will fill the Antigonish Heritage Museum with the sounds of fiddles, pipes, and Gaelic songs every Thursday evening in July, starting July 2, 2026. The weekly summer ceilidh series kicks off at 7:00 PM at the museum, housed in the old train station at 20 East Main Street in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Admission is $10 at the door, and a bed lunch is included.
The informal concerts give both newer and experienced players a place to share Cape Breton and Scottish Gaelic tunes with neighbours and visitors. Guests can expect acoustic performances on fiddle, piano, bagpipes, and guitar, carrying on traditions that have deep roots in the Antigonish area since the late 1700s.
The Heritage Association of Antigonish, the charitable group that runs the museum, has organized the summer ceilidhs for more than ten years. In past summers the series stretched through August, but this year only July dates have been confirmed.
The museum opened in 1991 in the former CN Railway Station, a building finished in 1908. It gets most of its funding from the Town of Antigonish and the Municipality of the County of Antigonish, with added support from the province’s Community Museums Assistance Program.
Exact performer names for July 2026 have not been shared yet, but past ceilidhs have featured musicians such as Heather MacIsaac, Natalie DeCoste, and Barry MacKenzie. More information about the series is available on the museum’s website.
