President's Message
Winter 2009
Dear Friends and Members of the Celtic Learning Project,
As the snows begin to melt in an early thaw, we take stock in what we accomplished in 2008 and what we plan for in 2009.
During 2008 we continued some valuable traditions. We marched in the New Haven St. Patrick’s Day Parade, demonstrated spinning and other skills at the Celebration of Celts and the Connecticut Irish Festival, and provided our “Live Like a Celt” program at the Irish-American Community Center’s Irish day camp. Pleasant additions to our schedule were the Anna Liffey’s Restaurant & Pub Halloween storytelling events. Vanessa Rutledge and I contributed stories to these two events, ensuring Celtic tradition remained in the most Celtic of modern holidays. 
More valuable than the act of spinning wool, telling story or marching in a parade are the legacy and tradition we maintain. Even as a small non-profit, we have made a vital place for ourselves in the various communities we inhabit. People from many backgrounds and locations know of our work, our deeds and our love for teaching Celtic history through hands-on involvement. People look for us in the parade, ask for stories and brighten at the mention of spinning and weaving as a way of life. We continue to fulfill a very important role by what we do and who we are. It is with this in mind that we brighten the mid-winter darkness with thoughts of the coming year. We began our year on January 31st with a new event: a spinning and weaving workshop. Hosted by the good folks at Anna Liffey’s, “Spin Like a Celt” brought together nearly 20 members and guests. We demonstrated and practiced working with the drop spindle, discussed our plans and got a chance to chat. This event also served as the first of the quarterly meetings we will be holding in 2009. Several members and I met in the late fall and decided that such meetings were important not only to keep our energies going but also to keep them going in the same direction.
Here is our 2009 schedule so far:
January 31st Spin Like a Celt - Spinning and Weaving Workshop
March 15th New Haven St. Patrick’s Day Parade
May 16–17th Ancient Celtic Clans skills gathering
June 20-21st Connecticut Irish Festival
Early July IACC Irish Camp
Please note that the skills gathering has replaced the Celebration of Celts (CoC) for our spring event. The CoC organizers decided not to run the event this year. Fortunately, Ancient Celtic Clans is planning on holding its own skills gathering May 16 -17th. They have invited us to join them for hands-on activities including archery, slinging and construction of Celtic buildings. We hope that you will join us for these events. We especially need volunteers for those events at which we provide an educational booth or demonstrations. Whether you would like to tell Celtic stories, demonstrate weaving or simply staff our table and answer questions, we need you! The Celts were a tribal people. We need our tribe to support our efforts. Several new members have taken on vital roles recently. Vanessa now serves as secretary and tells some great stories as well. Frederick joined me at this last summer’s Irish camp, bringing his knowledge of ancient warfare to an interested audience of youngsters.
We are also in need of your leadership as our volunteer staff has thinned over the years. Several of our board members have moved away and were forced to discontinue their involvement. Rob Kelly, long a champion of the Celtic Learning Project through his omnipresence at festivals and in the Internet, has had to step down as executive director. Like Rob, I find my home life intervening more than I had expected. While I am happy to continue on in my current role, I echo the call of others to you, our friends and members. Please share your enthusiasm for Celtic civilization by joining us at our events.
We also need you to renew your membership or, if you are not a formal member, to become one. Your membership allows us to purchase the minimal supplies we need for our programs: wool and drop spindles, educational materials, craft materials for Live Like a Celt Day. Please renew, join and become a part of the Celtic Learning Project! Celtic legend is full of heroes who made the difference by their action. We need your action to make a difference today. Thank you!
Sincerely,
C.J. May, President
www.celtlearn.org