Fetch your kilt from the drycleaners and pass the haggis
by Aimee Lorefice
Whether you can do the fling or not, dust off your kilt and march your way down to Centennial Park for the famous Canmore Highland Games this Labour Day weekend, on September 5.
Chances are you’ve got some Irish or Scottish blood moving through your veins. If not, you might want to pretend you do. It would be unfortunate to let this joyful frenzy of Scottish music and merriment pass you by. Seasoned well, with 14 years under its belt, this year’s event, to be held at Centennial Park in downtown Canmore, will offer a delightful assortment of traditional Highland treats.
It was a stroll through Centennial Park more than a dozen years ago that inspired local resident Don Garen to organize a Scottish Games, and ever since his family has been coordinating the festivities.
“He said, ‘Oh my god, this is the perfect location for a Highland games’,” says his daughter Sally Garen. “So we rousted up a committee and put it on for the first year in 1991.” Now there are more than 400 people who help make the Games what they are — a great celebration from the moment the gates open.
The first entertainers of the day, aptly named Carstairs Kitchen Party, begin at 8 a.m. in the heated beer tent while locals and visitors from far and wide feast on a pancake breakfast. Ceilidh Review, a fantastic group of 15 dancers, singers and musicians from neighbouring Calgary and Cochrane, then steps in for the afternoon. Enter more Irish dancers, and likely another musical act yet to be announced will hit the dance floor to provide their own musical brand of jolly entertainment while tent dwellers sip on pints of stout and tap their feet.
A young piper joins his band at the Canmore Highland Games.
It all kicks off with a pancake breakfast at 7:30 that Sunday morning followed by a plethora of jolly events on the park grounds. There are piping and drumming competitions; the heavy sports, a popular event the Scots can claim as their own; Highland dancing competitions; and even a sheep dog herding demonstration. A Scottish goods market made up of more than 40 vendor booths is open all day. There are clan booths and genealogy stations where visitors can trace their roots back to their great grandparents, and plenty of spots to fetch tasty snacks and beverages.
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The caber toss at the Canmore Highland Games is an amazing spectacle, and also offers a rare chance to see extremely burly men in kilts as they compete in the Heavy Games.
But the action doesn’t stop until the wee hours. The evening Ceilidh is the perfect finish to an exciting day. It is a fantastic party held in the festival tent featuring Scottish and Irish dancers, pipe band events and the lively sounds of Beolach, a wildly popular Celtic band from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
Around 25 pipe bands from Canada and the U.S. and 400 Highland dancers participate in the Canmore Highland Games. As many as 10,000 people have wandered the park on that September day, to watch the Drum Majors competition, which is a contest between the leaders of the bands who beat the large drum with the soft-tipped drumsticks, or to watch the spine-tingling massed bands performance, my personal favourite.
Celts know how to have fun, says Sally Garen, who can’t seem to break away from her annual commitment to making the Games a reality. It runs in the family. Her mother, father and sister have continued to help organize the event all these years. It’s a passion for the dancing, the music, and the celebration of her Scottish heritage that keeps her coming back. “It’s really enjoyable to see such a large event come off and to see so many people enjoying it. It’s important to keep it alive.”
At a modest price of $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and $5 for kids older than age six, this is a spirited event suited for people of all ages and interests. The Canmore Highland Games is sure to stir your Scottish blood.
Aimee Lorefice is a Canmore writer who originally hails from Antigonish, Nova Scotia. She can be found enjoying a beach holiday in the lovely Maritimes later this month, in the company of family members and a few cool drinks.
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