The article “Dinner Theatre Atlantic style,” in your May/June issue, was an enjoyable and useful reminder that this cheerful Maritime hybrid of cabaret, comedy and improv is an invaluable training ground for hundreds of aspiring young performers across Atlantic Canada.

Down here in hot and dry Texas, this Canadian keeps up with the Maritimes with the great fortune of a Saltscapes subscription, given to me by my brother. My Texan hubby and I are taking two teenage Texas gals for a Maritime treat at the Grafton Dinner Theatre in August, thanks to your fun article (“Dinner Theatre Atlantic style,” May/June)—my siblings confirmed it’s one of their favourite places. Ya’ll keep it up—eh?

I can’t believe it! I read your July/August issue twice, as usual, and there were no illustrations by Bruce John Wood—I like his work because it is old-fashioned and nostalgic. Please don’t let it happen again!! 

The Amistad story (“Sailing to Africa on the Amistad,” July/August) is another provocative window into the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade. Though it is commonly known that many freed slaves arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone, via Nova Scotia, less is known about what happened to them after their arrival on African shores.

After the arrival of the July/August issue of Saltscapes, my friend called up and asked me if I’d seen the recipe for the Shaker-Style Sliced Lemon Pie. It looked very interesting. She offered to make it as my birthday “cake” the following week. What a success! I could smell the lemons well before the plate actually arrived in front of me. Even die-hard lemon meringue fans were impressed. This recipe is definitely a “keeper”!

If Canadians really want to buy local, as Jodi DeLong suggests (“What is the Future for Farmers,” July/August), why do the number of farms continue to decline? The answer has less to do with the absence of options than with our desire to provide marketers with politically correct answers, over what we are likely to actually do. 

In your article “Full Celtic Circle” (July/August) you state that in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, Scottish music was not very sexy, and stepdancing was anything but cool. The author was obviously nowhere near Inverness County during that time. 

I was thrilled to get Saltscapes magazine with the story about Cape Breton (“Full Celtic Circle,” July/August). I have spent my life travelling, from an early age with my dad (he was Allan MacDougall of the comedy team of Hughie and Allan), and now with friends, all over Cape Breton to every concert possible.