SYDNEY, N.S. — Cape Bretoners might be self-isolating but they are also finding innovative ways to continue doing what they love.
Garbage night parties are even still a go.
“We’ve actually been talking for years about putting our garbage night parties online,” said Jenn Sheppard of New Waterford. “We just thought, ‘This the perfect storm to make that happen. We’re all missing each other, we all want to feel connected. We all need a little music right now to lift us up.”
The Cape Breton Post has found many people finding innovative ways to have the same fun they always did but now while self-isolated.
Sheppard, — singer, songwriter, and performer— has been self-isolated for well over a week with her family including daughter Jordyn Crocker, a Grade 12 student of Breton Education Centre and also a singer, songwriter and performer, and husband Stephen Muise, music teacher and band director at BEC and conductor of the Men of the Deeps. Both Sheppard and Muise are also members of High Society and the Privateers.
“We’re just keeping to ourselves at home,” Sheppard said. “We’re perfectly healthy and fine. We only go out when it’s necessary, limiting our shopping trips.”
For years, Sheppard said they’ve been hosting garbage parties at their home always jokingly threatening to put them online, feeling people wouldn’t believe their Thursday night routine.
Sheppard said Thursday night is garbage night, when they’d put the garbage out for the weekly Friday pick up. Where it’s a task no one likes, they would kick it off with an informal music jam. If the neighbours were home they’d drop over, any musicians around would pop in. Garbage night isn’t a formal concert, it’s people showing up in flannel shirts and bonfire hats.
“That’s the way it always was and how would always wanted to keep it," she said.
There have even been special guests such as Matt Andersen, Matt Minglewood, members of Men of the Deeps, Aaron Lewis, Jen and Emily Dingwall and others.
“Anyone who was around, really.”
Once the news of the coronavirus broke and people began to self-isolate, people on social media began mentioning being bored and needing entertainment.
Friend and musician Aaron Lewis came up with the idea.
“Aaron urged us," Sheppard said. “He said, ‘Why don’t you put your garbage night online? ”
So last Thursday for the first time, they opened the lid on their garbage party streaming live from Sheppard’s Facebook page.
“It was nerve wracking at first as you’re opening your home to the world,” Sheppard said.
“We had to put our thinking caps on as we wanted to bring people right into our living room and make them feel like they were part of the party with us.”
Where it was spontaneous they didn’t know if 50 people would tune in or 100, well it turned out to be about 1,200.
Sheppard said it was a party, safe distancing with everyone in their own homes but yet taking part. Viewers were told to dig out their own musical instruments and if they didn’t have any to grab a box of Kraft dinner or bottle of pills to use as shakers. People were hanging out in the teleprompter chat.
“We couldn’t keep up with the messages,” Sheppard said. “It showed us everyone one needed this. That’s how we cope in Cape Breton, how we heal.”
There was even an intermission, so people could go get drinks or popcorn. In the meantime, people were sending in photos of themselves at home holding up their make-shift shakers. The party lasted over two hours.
Since then, Sheppard has been inundated with messages wanting them to do it again. Sheppard said they will be continuing garbage night live streamed Thursdays at 7 p.m. at https://www.facebook.com/sheppard.jenn
“What’s what we do in Cape Breton, we gather and we play music because it gets us through tough times,” she said. “That feeling isn’t going to go away in a crisis, it heightens. We feel more than ever we need to gather and play music to get us through.”
As well because they saw the power in the watch party, they accepted online donations towards the 2020 grads at Breton Education Centre. Sheppard said the lives of these students in their final year of high school has been cut short and the future is unknown.
“A lot of their events and fundraisers were canceled so we thought we’d help that out,” Sheppard said. “Each week we’ll pick another cause.”
Meanwhile, they are still receiving gratitude for the ‘night out.’
“People have been thanking us but it really was a gift to ourselves having our family and friends – and even friends we didn’t know we had – all hang out in our room,” she said. “It was so festive, super fun for us.”
THE NEW WATERFORD HORSEMEN
Meanwhile, a group of friends the ‘New Waterford Horsemen’ who have been meeting at Tim Hortons in New Waterford daily at 6:30 a.m. for many years, have also adjusted.
“There’s about a dozen from one end of the table to the other,” said Rick Wilson, who never misses the morning gatherings that include friends retired and others heading off to work. “It’s the New Waterford horsemen and their friends.”
Wilson said he enjoys it, joking he gets ‘all the gossip.’ In reality, he said the conversation was always sports, depending on the season, and horses. However, he said that has changed as there’s not a table to go to in Tim Hortons right now and there’s no hockey, ball or basketball.
The group still meets but grab their coffee in the drive thru – as the restaurants were no longer accessible as of last Thursday — and isolate in their trucks with the windows down.
“We roll up the rim and roll down the window,” he joked.
Although that’s routine has stayed as normal as can be in the circumstances, Wilson, like everyone else, is self-isolated at home.
“My wife hasn’t been out for two weeks so I’m going to take her out for a nice drive somewhere.”
KEEPING UP WITH TAEKWONDO
Many youth have lost the fun of clubs and groups they belong to but are trying to keep up at home including Emma Head, 14, a member of the IMAC Taekwondo
Club in Glace Bay, who can be seen breaking boards in photos on Facebook.
“I’m practising with her," said mother Christa Head.
Christa said the club had a tournament scheduled in Halifax last weekend and were supposed to leave on March 20 but of course everything was cancelled. Since Emma lost her tournament trip, Christa decided to give her new gear put away for an Easter present, so she could have fun practising at home.
“She’s been board breaking and practising on her wave master which she set up Thursday by herself,” she said.
“She’s been using her pads we got her to practice kicking and everything else that she needs to keep going with.”
