Hey diddle diddle – mad respect for those who play the fiddle.

Blimey, what a wholesome family wing-ding Elaine and I were treated to at Kelowna Community Theatre on the first Friday night of December. The marquee out front touted a “Celtic Family Christmas” with Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy. Sounded seasonal. Sounded Irish. Sounded like we’d be decking some halls and dashing through a little snow.

Oh what fun it is to find out there’s much much more. Turns out MacMaster and Leahy are award-winning virtuoso fiddlers who put the iddlin’ in fiddlin’ around. They’ve been married for 14 years, have six children, tour together as a home-schooled family, and masterfully blew away the sold-out house with their high-energy musical chops and G-rated showmanship.

I know what you’re thinking – what exactly is a fiddle? Seems a fiddle and violin are basically the same bowed string instrument. A violin costs more, a fiddle is normally the term used for Irish and folk music genres. Another way to look at it, a fiddle is a less-snobby violin.

So how did our headliners, along with their equally talented four-piece band, totally engross the attendees of all ages? Here are five stocking-stuffer highlights:

Have you ever heard Joy to the World played via fiddle? There’s a first time for everything. No lyrics, just Leahy magically plucking away at the start of the show. Up next was MacMaster and her fiddle-tastic version of Sleigh Ride. Both performers were dancin’ and boppin’ around as they grooved to the music and got the party started. It was infectious, in a we-want-more way.

Leahy was masterful playing White Christmas with a guitar backup. Then his better half joined in as they changed their tune to The Little Drummer Boy. The two fiddlers soon found themselves accompanied by a band member playing the bagpipes. It was killer cool. Bagpipes at a Christmas performance? Even Rudolph found it to be mesmerizing and memorable.

Before intermission, four of the children came on stage. Was this the digital-age Von Trapp family who Climb Ev’ry Mountain together? The kids, oldest to youngest, each played a fiddle solo. Marvelous. Then Mom and Dad joined in and all six knocked out Jingle Bells. The kids weren’t done. Each of them took a turn in the spotlight to showcase their Irish step dancing. Standing ovation. Bravo.

After intermission, it was fiddle-mania again as the children joined their parents to play and sing Up on the Housetop……Click Click Click. Holy St. Nick, these little reindeer play fiddle, sing, and dance?! And they live on a farm and do chores. Are we looking at the Cape Breton version of the Osmonds or Jacksons? Fiddle-sticks, even the three wise men want to know.

The adults re-took the stage and MacMaster and Leahy led the band in a multiple-instrument version of The 12 Days of Christmas. Accordions, bagpipes, piano, guitars, flutes, and fiddles were used. So was the audience to sing “five golden rings” at just the right time. To say this singalong was crowd-pleasing would be an understatement.

It was absolutely a chocolate-covered treat to watch two masters of their craft perform at such a high level for more than two hours. This was no silent night. It was a thoroughly entertaining holiday celebration that should help increase fiddle sales at every tour stop.