Anne of Green Gables and the Ceilidh

Anne with an "e" 

We went to Avonlea Village today. My (Anna-Lee) favorite places in the Village were the Schoolhouse and the Dress shop. The school was the actual school that Lucy Maud Montgomery taught. Someone moved the schoolhouse to this location.

Dave and Anna-Lee goofing in the schoolhouse. Hair in the ink well.

There were real books that students had used that I looked through and slates I drew on at the desks.

Anna-Lee at the teacher's desk. It is exciting to think of Lucy having sat at that very place teaching many years ago. The books were also interesting - poetry, Latin, health, and math.

The dress shop was so neat. I got to dress up in dresses and hats.

Anna-Lee dressed as Anne. There were wonderful props in the Dress shop to get your picture taken around.

Perhaps she is now Diana.

 

OK, there are more, but suffice it to say she had a lot of fun in this place.

There were also lots of different activities including games at the "Sunday School picnic," a reenactment of the amethyst brooch episode, songs, and lots of other things.

There were lot of other places including the General Store and a real manse that was used by a Presbyterian minister on the Island. The church at the site was one Lucy used to attend!

They had actors there wandering the village including Anne, Diana, Gilbert, Matthew, Marilla, Josie Pye, and many others. I could go up and talk to them and get my picture taken with them too.

Anne and Diana with Anna-Lee and Monica at the S.S. picnic.

 

The kids weren't the only ones who got to play picnic games. Here the men got to try their hopping legs out. And yes, Dave is there.

We also saw the Anne of Green Gables home, and the birthplace of Lucy Maud Montgomery. There are lots of Anne or Lucy related buildings and activities around the Island, but we aren't doing any more.

Tonight we went to a real Ceilidh (pronounced Kay-lee). It is Irish music and dance and singing and even a recitaiton tonight. They can be at people's homes or a church. We went to one just down the street in the Malpeque Community Centre. There was lots of foot stomping and clapping. There was a fiddle, accordion, guitar, and a girl who did Irish jig and reel dancing and singing. And they served strawberries and ice cream at the break time!

We learned that if you want to say "potato" the way the Islanders do you pronounce the "t" like a "d" so it becomes "podado." We sang a song about P.E.I. podadoes!
 

There were about 100 people packed into the Centre. It was fun and funny. Very interactive, high energy, stories, jokes, dancing, singing, and ended with an Irish blessing.

I (Monica) enjoyed Avonlea Village as well. It made it come alive to have all the characters moving around interacting with one antoher, involved in all the activities and approachable too.

The outdoor skit being put on about the amethyst brooch. The acting was really good.

Monica says she dressed as Marilla.

 I think one of my highlights though was to watch the rest of the family try mussels today! Mussels came with my supper and when the server discovered no one else in my family had tried them before, she brought an entire platter of them for us all to share! After all we "couldn't leave P.E.I. without at least trying them" she said! We all ate them - some of my family with more trepidation than others! Anna-Lee was first to pop one in her mouth. Mom was last!

Clams and Mussels are not the same we learned today. These were mussels.