The date of the Celtic Island Music Festival was chosen in part because it coincides with the anniversary of the landing of the Ship Hector. The vessel was part of the first significant migration of Scottish settlers to Nova Scotia. The Hector left Scotland in July of 1773 with 207 passengers. The trip across the Atlantic took eleven weeks with a gale off the coast of Newfoundland causing a two week delay. The Hector was an old ship and health conditions were extremely poor. Dysentery and smallpox claimed 18 lives among the passengers. The ship arrived in what is now Pictou, Nova Scotia, on September 15, 1773. The voyage started a wave of emigration that resulted in Pictou being affectionately named ‘the birthplace of New Scotland’. Special thanks to scotgovcanada for their help in celebrating this important anniversary. __________________ #scottishcanadian #novascotia #scotlandisnow #standrewstoronto #standrewssociety #celticcanada