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preservation association of beaver island

At C3F we enjoy hearing about the ripple effects that can sometimes come from our grantmaking. Sometimes the ripples are small, and other times they can be more like big waves! A recent Geographic Enrichment grant to the Preservation Association of Beaver Island certainly felt some big ripples last year. The grant itself was to help the Irish Feile (Festival) bring a couple of Currach rowing teams to the Island to compete in an Irish cultural event. Festival organizers said, "the grant did much more than provide two days of Irish Currach rowing in beautiful Paradise Bay; it supported a festival that is an authentic cultural connection between Arranmore Island, Ireland and Beaver Island. A crowd of over 300 gathered on the Beaver Island Ferry Dock for the arrival of the over 120 people from our sister island and all will forever remember when the ramp of the Emerald Isle Ferry dropped and the Arranmore Pipe Band in their glory and their grief (they had just lost their band leader to a heart attack) marched onto the dock to cement a centuries old connection between Beaver Island and Arranmore Island. From that moment the festival took on a life of its own and all the planning in the world could not have anticipated the warmth and camaraderie that would permeate the island for the next few days.  The grant helped make that happen and the Currach Rowing was a major part of the festival, bringing festival goers together on the beach and in the boats and gave them common experiences to share during the festival." The Irish Feile takes place the second weekend in September each year. You can learn more about it here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100067454371257