5 Best Performing Arts Venues in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

Featuring traditional music and dancing, ceilidhs are held at St. Michael's Parish Hall every evening from July to late August, starting at 7:30. The hall opens at 5 for ticket sales, or you can be sure to get in by phoning ahead for a reservation.

The area's leading cultural institution, the university's 337-seat Boardmore Playhouse hosts an annual season of plays, ranging from Broadway musicals to Shakespeare as well as the One Act Festival, the Youth Theatre Festival, and various concerts.

More than just a port for the many cruise ships that dock here each year, the pavilion is a popular entertainment venue, too. Its main stage and lighthouse stage host many musical acts, especially during events like Sydney's nine-day Sydney Harbour Front Festival in August and the 10-day Celtic Colours International Festival in October. Even if you're not arriving by ship, the pavilion is easy enough to find: just look for the 60-foot fiddle that towers outside it.

You can take in traditional Cape Breton music and other entertainments nightly in August (and sporadically throughout the year) at the Louisbourg Playhouse, a 17th-century-style theater that was modeled after Shakespeare's Globe. Originally constructed as part of the Disney movie set for Squanto: A Warrior's Tale, the venue was donated to the community in 1994 after filming wrapped.

Concerts, plays, and musicals are presented at this arts center that is also one of the many venues for the annual Celtic Colours Festival.