St. Patrick’s Day celebrations took the Pontiac by storm this weekend.
As always, Quyon led the Pontiac in St. Paddy’s spirit, kicking off the weekend with a tea organized by the Quyon Pastoral Charge. The event brought in close to 100 green-clad guests who gathered for tea, sweets and sandwiches at the Quyon Community Centre.
Celebrations then continued a block away at the Quyon Legion, where Arnold Trudeau and friends played an afternoon of kitchen party tunes. The band’s spirited renditions of crowd favourites as well as some Irish jigs and reels had the crowd’s toes tapping. Former Quyon resident, 93-year-old fiddler Carl Trudeau, joined the band for a few songs, earning the admiration of the Quyon crowd.
In the evening, two dances kept the party going for those in other parts of the county. Shawville’s United Church Hall hosted no fewer than six live musical acts, while Sheenboro’s Parish Hall played host to a St. Paddy’s shin-dig organized by the Sheenboro Recreation Association. Organizers at the Sheenboro dance said it was the first such dance since before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the turnout did not disappoint.
As per tradition, the weekend’s celebrations wrapped up back in Quyon at Gavan’s Hotel, which marked its 80th year hosting the annual St. Patrick’s Day party.
Over the course of the afternoon, many longtime Gavan’s performers graced the venue’s stage, including members of the Daley family – one of Quyon’s original musical clans back in the ‘50s – and Cal Cummings, who has been singing on stage at Gavan’s for over fifty years, since he was only 14 years old.
“My dad would always want the best dancers, the best musicians,” said host Gail Gavan to the crowd, speaking of her father Lennox Gavan, who purchased the hotel with his wife Marguerite in 1946.
Step dancers Gaia Adjemian (left) and Owen Lavender (right) wow the crowd with their quick feet.Gavan’s Shamrock Lounge was packed on Sunday afternoon for the venue’s 80th annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration. From left, Dave Ryan, Louis Schryer, Dean Howard on drums, Gail Gavan, and Mike Ryan kept the Gavan’s St. Patrick’s Day party going for some six hours on Sunday afternoon.Musicians, clockwise from left, Baylee Gallagher from Chapeau, Lindsay Glover, Ken Daley, Lorne Daley, and Virginia Freeborn keep the music going on the pub side of Gavan’s Hotel during Sunday’s party. Lindsay, Ken, and Lorne are all members of Quyon’s Daley family, one of a handful that dominated the local music scene back in the day.Stepdancer Nairi Adjemian takes her moves from the stage to the dance floor during one of many routines performed at the Gavan’s St. Patrick’s Day party on Sunday. Louis Schryer was on stage all day Sunday playing classic Irish jigs and other fan favourites along with Gail Gavan and the Ryan brothers.Jean Dick (doing the limbo), sister to former Douglas Tavern owner Terry McHale, shimmies along to the live music at Gavan’s on Sunday.Party host Gail Gavan welcomes longtime Gavan’s performer Cal Cummings to the stage to wish him a happy birthday before he sings a couple songs for the crowd. Cummings was just 14 when he took the stage at Gavan’s for the first time, and has been performing at the annual St. Patrick’s party ever since.Jeannie Judd (left) and Judy Stephens (right) take a turn on the dance floor.Quyon native Lorne Daley shares a grin between jamming with family members at Gavan’s.From left, Clare Craig, Debbie Kilgour, Brian Kilgour and Don Craig were among those clad in Kelly green for the St. Paddy’s kitchen party at the Quyon Legion on Saturday afternoon.From left, Bonnie Richardson, Karen Chambers, Glenda Baker and Lynn Spencer played a hand in organizing the St. Paddy’s dance at Shawville’s Anglican Church Hall on Saturday night. The hall was so packed, attendees filed out into the hallway. The four women even entertained the crowd with some live music later in the evening under the nickname The Church Chicks. Attendees were decked out in green for the St. Paddy’s dance hosted in the Shawville Anglican Church Hall.Arnold Trudeau (right) and his band led the kitchen party at the Quyon Legion, playing traditional Irish tunes that got whoops and cheers from the crowd. Carl Trudeau (left) was one of the several musicians who joined him throughout the afternoon. Not pictured are musicians Donald Foran, Garry Cummings, Joe Bennett and Mark Helmer.The Sheenboro Recreation Association held a St. Paddy’s dance at the Parish Hall, the first such dance since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers said they were pleasantly surprised at the turnout for the dance. From left are organizers Peter Gleason, Karen Shea, Jeannie Gleason, Tim Doyle, Emile Lebel, Lorna Gleason and Janet Gleason.Will O’Neill had the Sheenboro crowd tapping their feet at the Parish Hall on Saturday night, playing Irish tunes as well as crowd favourites all night long. The Quyon Pastoral Charge put on a St. Paddy’s Tea on Saturday, complete with sandwiches, sweets, and a good ol’ cup of tea. The event pulled close to 100 attendees. Back row, from left, are organizers Lisa Nugent, Bonnie Fraser, Jillian Young, Bernice Hickey, Stacy Johnston, Lindsay Hamilton, Kerry-Lynn O’Connell and Kara Young, and front row from left are Rebecca Nugent, Madyson Belland, Danica Provost and Molly Dowe.
