COVID-19 quarantine can't keep Bluenosers from having a giant kitchen party

Facebook page draws professional and amateur entertainers Nearly 40-thousand people have joined the Ultimate Online Nova Scotia Kitchen Party to watch and share performances from isolation.

SYDNEY, N.S. — While we're all mostly stuck at home, Maritimers are flocking to their favourite place to socialize -- the kitchen -- but with a twist.

More than 50,000 people have come together on social media to create the ultimate online Nova Scotia kitchen party and it's unearthing some hidden talents.

It's an unintended benefit of COVID-19 and physical distancing.

While some are chanelling their favourite musician, others have penned tunes about trips to the grocery store. All of these amateur musicians have posted videos to a Facebook page called The Ultimate Online Nova Scotia Kitchen Party, COVID-19 edition.

Wayne McKay plays piano in his spare time. He says he was self-concious at first, but seeing others perform on pages like this inspired him to tickle the ivories online.

"It's the kind of thing what we need right now," said McKay. "I didn't expect to be playing the piano this soon publicly, so I guess it kind of brought me out a bit."

As of Monday evening, the page had surpassed the 50,000 member mark, and while everyone has a connection to Nova Scotia, the videos are coming from all over the world.

Jenn Sheppard and Stephen Muise are professional musicians who last week had more than 1,200 viewers for an online performance out of their home. They say watching regular people have a moment in the spotlight has been a bright spot.

"We get to do it every weekend, or every four days, but the online portion of it really opens up," Sheppard aid. "So, if you're just somebody who's always just sang along with the radio, now's your time to shine."

During this tough time, Maritimers are still proving they can be creative and show off some of their hidden talents.