Through the years — through the centuries — this has fused into a powerful and distinct musical style which  artists including Natalie MacMaster, the Barra MacNeils, and Ashley MacIsaac have taken around the world. Each year in October, Cape Breton celebrates its music at home, with concerts that feature loads of Cape Breton artists along with singers,  players, and composers from the many strands which have made the music’s history. This festival is called Celtic Colours. This year it takes place 7th through 15th October, and tickets go on sale beginning 11 July.

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Travel Photo Hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Leica announced the 2011 winners of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award, and produced an 18 minute movie of their work. The movie was presented at the Arles Photo festival of 2011.

Jan Grarup received the Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2011 for his Haiti Aftermath series and Jing Huang won the Newcomer Award 2011 for his photo set titled Pure of Sight.

I’ve watched this movie three times, and readily confess that the majority of the photo essays left me indifferent, and even puzzled. I found that the exceptions were the two projects by Jan Garup; the Haiti Aftermath and Darfur (at the end of the clip) and a poignant photo essay by Carsten Stormer titled The Acid Survivors.

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Guilt-free guzzling? Indulgence without worrying about your waistline? It’s surprisingly easy for visitors to Scotland to experience these with a new book published by VisitScotland which encourages lovers of the great outdoors to try out active pursuits whilst eating some of the best food on offer – from canoeing through the heart of whisky country to cycling and picnicking around the Borders.

The book, Surprise Yourself with an Appetite for Adventure, allows visitors to explore the massive variety of landscapes that the country has to offer, while trying out a number of different active pursuits – from gentle walks and hearty hikes to cycle rides, surfing and sea kayaking.  Ea

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Dylan of The Travelling Editor (notice the British double l) is currently hitchhiking his way across Canada. He cant remember where exactly in Banff he took this pretty photo, which just suggests to me that the entire city must be too pretty for words.