Cape Bretoners will remember 2020 as the year when COVID-19 pretty much destroyed the traditional idea of the entertainment industry.
Musicians, theatre professionals and other artists scrambled as events were suddenly cancelled. Despite seeing their traditional forms of revenue such as performing and teaching disappear, they somehow found new ways to remain in their profession while still reaching their fans safely.
Singer-songwriter Keith Mullins built a home studio so he could work on his own music and help others with their goals.
Other musicians did online concerts instead from the safety of their homes, becoming proficient in the whole new world of live streaming.
For those who teach, it sometimes meant taking those lessons online as well, dropping into home's safely through computers.
There were those who figured out how to monetize their online efforts so they could make a living, and others who turned their concerts into fundraising events to help others hard-hit by the pandemic.
Musicians Jenn Sheppard and Stephen Muise raised close to $100,000 for local charities and others in need from their weekly Garbage Night events.
Towards the end of 2020, some groups resumed rehearsing again and some even went back onstage, albeit with masks and at least six feet away from each other. But even then, as provincial regulations kept changing, several events that were scheduled to have performers entertaining live audiences ended up being cancelled and replaced by live stream events
RADICAL ACCESS
When COVID-19 began afflicting Nova Scotians, theatres and other entertainment venues were among the first to close and they may be among the last to reopen.
But then there’s the Highland Arts Theatre.
The Sydney-based theatre defied the odds of not only surviving the pandemic but thriving, thanks to Radical Access, developed by Wesley J. Colford, the theatre’s artistic and executive director.
Radical access asks supporters to make ongoing monthly donations for tax-deductible charitable receipts. The money received allows the theatre to remain open and continue its work. When the HAT achieved 100 per cent of their radical access fundraising goal in the fall, it made all upcoming main stage productions free of charge for the entire community.
For their efforts, the theatre received the 2020 Creative Community Impact Award from Arts Nova Scotia.
BIG EVENTS CANCELLED
For those involved in the arts, 2020 will be remembered as the year that wasn’t.
At the end of February onward, performers saw the list of engagements on their work calendars dwindle or even disappear completely as COVID-19 made its way across North America.
While local events were cancelled, Cape Breton musicians who tour outside of the island also saw their livelihoods disappear as performance spaces closed and festivals decided to forgo the year.
Nova Scotia Music Week was set to be staged in Sydney for the first time in years and ended up being one of the biggest events to cancel when it gave notice back in June.
Some events, like KitchenFest delayed holding their event until the fall. Celtic Colours International Festival decided to hold a virtual event but promises to be back bigger and better in 2021, the year of its 25th anniversary.
The Cape Breton Jazz Festival held fast, deciding to hold a smaller festival with the emphasis on Cape Breton jazz performers. It also held its concerts outside, making it safer for both performers and the audience.
NATALIE MACMASTER
The honours just kept pouring in for the pride of Troy, Cape Breton.
Fiddler Natalie MacMaster was named to the Order of Nova Scotia in November, joining such previous luminaries as Anne Murray, Buddy MacMaster and Rita MacNeil.
The Order of Nova Scotia is the highest honour of the Province of Nova Scotia. Established in 2001, it encourages excellence by recognizing Nova Scotians for outstanding contributions or achievements.
MacMaster and her musical family joined the live streaming surge by hosting more than 50 Christmas concerts across North America from her Ontario home.
PUBLISHING FULL-STEAM AHEAD
While most art and cultural forms took a pause in 2020, the publishers of Cape Breton books kept moving, aware that keeping the public home means more people want something to read while they’re self-isolating.
For Boularderie Island Press, 2020 was the year they reached the 50-book mark, a feat for a small publishing house that only got going back in 2012.
Breton Books released several new titles including one on Nova Scotian civil rights leader Pearleen Oliver and a new book of stories from former mayor and humourist, the late David Muise.