Officials with the Celtic Colours International Festival say they’ve had a great response since they launched ticket sales for their 2018 event.
Dawn Beaton, the festival’s artistic director, says it’s been their best year to date, with more than 9,000 tickets sold on day one- July 10- alone.
Beaton tells The Hawk they’re optimistic with how things have gone, and are happy to offer so many shows to accommodate as many spectators as they can.
“I think it’s a great indicator, I think it’s a strong indicator (but) it’s not, by any means, our only indicator,” she says. “We’re very conscious of what that implies- a sold-out show can be great, but it means that someone hasn’t got the ticket that they wanted.”
Beaton says they try to schedule artists, who come from further away especially, to perform more than once.
She says they encourage purchasing tickets at local venues, but they’re also available at the box office in Sydney.
Beaton says they’re pleased with the fast start.
”In 2017, by the first day of the festival, we had 35 sold-out shows,” she says. “We (were) already at 17 in less than a week (for 2018).”
The nine-day event features 49 concerts across Cape Breton in October.