Valerie Caine's blog

The mighty Mollag Ghennal, organised by members of the popular Mollag Band, is guaranteed to be one of the highlights of the festive calendar and this year proved no exception.

It's a great opportunity to sample some of the best the Island has to offer on the Manx music scene, and to be at the forefront of some of the revolutionary changes within the folk genre.

Undeterred by poor weather, many people gathered at various venues across the Island to perform Hunt the Wren, which still forms part of the St Stephen's Day (Boxing Day) celebrations on the Isle of Man.

Singers, musicians and dancers dusted down their wren poles and braved the rain to continue this long held Manx tradition and collect money for a number of local charities.

With its proximity to the site of the former Knockaloe Internment Camp at Patrick, the Leece Museum in Peel is an ideal location for a temporary exhibition which seeks to bring a flavour of what it was like for the thousands of internees who were incarcerated on the site during World War I.

The Leece Museum, situated in the old courthouse on the East Quay, already has a number of selected items about this historical site on permanent display, including an assortment of intricate bone carvings sculpted by the internees.

The mighty Mollag Ghennal is back on the festive list of fun events with a magnificent line-up of musicians to fortify everyone between the Christmas holidays and New Year's Eve.

Following the usual format, it's a musical spectacular which attracts a full house, a great atmosphere and the chance to enjoy some outstanding music from the Manx music stable.

The Norwegian-Manx Musical Collaboration is just one of the many exciting projects to emerge from the Island based organisation Culture Vannin, but with their debut performance at the Erin Arts Centre in 2013, it was soon obvious that this successful partnership had tapped into something new and exciting.

Historical links between Norway and the Isle of Man have been well documented by historians and scholars for centuries, but during November there'll be an opportunity to learn more about an exciting music collaboration between the two countries; with school visits, workshops and a concert at the Centenary Centre in Peel.

Jinny the Witch has long been associated with the Manx observance of Hop tu Naa, a celebration of the Celtic New Year, along with a varied assortment of customs.Many of them were based on divination, with young girls attempting to discover whom they would marry, whereas the boys were more likely to be visiting their neighbours with cabbages on sticks demanding potatoes, herring or bonnag; hence its lesser known title ‘thump the door night’.

The unique Peel P50, designed and built on the Isle of Man, celebrated its 50th birthday recently with a get-together of owners and vehicles for a number of special events.

Owners of some of the surviving vehicles, including not only the P50 but the Trident and Viking Sport, made by Peel Engineering, (with Cyril Cannell as Managing Director), gathered in the town of Peel for this singular occasion.

This colourful extravaganza was recorded as part of the International Folk Dance Festival held at the Villa Marina, with the support of the Isle of Man Arts Council, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Manx Folk Dance Society, featuring a diverse range of culture and folk dance from the Isle of Man, the UK and Europe.

This emotionally charged drama, held at the Centenary Centre in Peel, focused on five central characters from the close of World War I up to the beginning of World War II; with some of our top vocalists taking the starring roles - including this year's Cleveland Medal winner Mandy Griffin.