Scottish Festival, Highland Games draws 26,500 people to Fergus
Festival continues to celebrate, honour Scottish heritage in 81st year
FERGUS – The skirl of bagpipes rang through the grounds of the Fergus sportsplex this weekend, as the annual Scottish Festival and Highland Games returned for its 81st year.
People come from all over to attend the festival, which includes heavy events, live music, highland dance, historical demonstrations, pipe and drum band competitions, kids’ activities, and almost 100 craft, food and drink vendors with everything from haggis poutine to freshly roasted turkey legs.
Organizers say the event showcases “the rich tapestry of Scottish culture in a vibrant display of heritage, athleticism and community spirit.”
TOP LEFT: David, left, worked hard to power the manual shears during this sheep shearing demonstration. TOP CENTRE, RIGHT: Pipe and drum bands paraded around the Centre Wellington Community Sportsplex grounds throughout the day. MIDDLE LEFT: August Fraser VanHout, left, travels to Fergus from his home in Ann Arbor, Michigan for the Scottish Festival. This year, he shared some sword-fighting skills he learned at Historical European Marshall Arts with Fergus locals, including sportsplex lifeguard Aaron Tatarnic. MIDDLE CENTRE: Ken Irvine had a station at the festival where he taught attendees, including Melody Dong, the traditional pioneer craft of rope making. Rope has been made this way for 1000s of years, Irvine said, but he developed the machine seen here himself, in order to offer an interactive demonstration to help kids learn. MIDDLE RIGHT: Fergus farrier Wendy Wood worked with 19-year-old gelding River to demonstrate how to trim and shoe a horse’s hooves. ABOVE LEFT: Sir Ronin, left, and DeathHawk battled it out in a performance in the McKiddie’s Centre at the festival. ABOVE CENTRE: Marley Cheng took a turn at curling in the McKiddies Centre at the festival. ABOVE RIGHT: The festival includes a highland dance competition – a style of competitive dancing developed in the Scottish Highlands in the 19th and 20th centuries. Highland dance is often performed to highland bagpipe music and dancers wear specialized shoes called ghillies. Photos by Robin George
The festival ran from Aug. 7 to 9 and brought more than 26,500 people to the Centre Wellington Community Sportsplex grounds. And though the weather included “a little bit of Scottish programming,” the skies were mostly clear throughout the weekend, said festival executive director Elizabeth Bender.
While the festival was a little scaled back compared to its 80th anniversary celebration last year, it offered the same traditions as previous years as well as a few extras, and attendance was amazing, Bender said.
“The whole place was truly buzzing ... with such a community spirit and vibe.”
Over 300 athletes competed in the highland games, which included caber toss, hammer throw and stone throws.
This year the heavy events expanded to include the Canadian Scottish Athletic Federation Open Men’s Championship on Aug. 9, which Bender said was a proud moment to see that calibre of athletes competing.
Alma local Jamie Trask won the caber toss, much to the delight of many cheering fans in the audience, including Margaret Murray.
TOP LEFT: Jamie Trask of Alma competing in the hammer throw. ALL OTHERS: The caber toss is among the most popular heavy events in the highland games. The competitor must pick up the 18- to 26-foot caber, weighing between 100 and 150 pounds, run with it, and toss it so it lands straight out at a 12 o’clock angle from the athlete. This event is judged based on the accuracy of the angle, not the distance of the throw. TOP RIGHT: Tipper McEwan from Halifax competing in the caber toss. Photos by Robin George
Murray has been involved with the festival, both as a volunteer and attendee, for decades, and reflected on when it used to take place at Victoria Park.
For Murray, watching the heavy events (particularly seeing Jamie’s father, Warren Trask) is always a highlight of the festival, as is connecting with Diana Gabaldon, the author of the book series Outlander.
This year, attendees had the chance to meet John Bell, who plays Ian Fraser Murray in the popular TV show based on the books.
All of Bell’s ticketed events sold out, Bender noted.
Murray said the first time Gabaldon came to Fergus was before her international fame, and she wanted to visit the Scottish-Canadian village because it has the same name as one of her characters.
Now, Murray often picks Gabaldon up from the airport when she visits, and said the author really embraces the Fergus Scottish Festival.
Murray said the festival is a great place for anyone interested in tourism or event planning to come and learn, as organizers have it down to an art, from everything to attracting famous people and securing sponsorships to selling tickets and organizing parking.
“And you meet new people from around the world,” she said.
Nearly 400 volunteers work together to ensure the festival runs smoothly, and organizers say they are always “looking to expand our volunteer clan.”
Attendees also learned about traditional craftsmanship, sipped on whiskey from local distilleries, found out about dozens of clans with representatives on hand to share heritage information, and sat back and relaxed while listening to a range of Celtic music, including from Ally the Piper.
Entertainment included a performance from Ally Crowley-Duncan, or Ally the Piper, who played covers from Metallica, Ozzy Osborne and Dropkick Murphys, along with originals blending traditional and alternative bagpipe sounds. Fiddler and dancer Emily Yarascavitvh joined Ally the Piper on stage and highland dancer Kyle William Andrews showed off his moves at the front of the crowd. Photos by Robin George
Bender said Ally the Piper is “a bit of an internet sensation ... who has broken the mold of traditional bagpiping.”
She performed, along with her band, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“We were thrilled to have her, and her advocacy for the bagpipes and young people, and young women in particular, taking that step and trying something out of their comfort zone,” Bender said.
“This was a Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games to remember,” stated festival president Christine de Nottbeck in a press release.
“So many wonderful performances and demonstrations, competitions, foods to taste, treasures to buy, lessons to learn and songs to hear.”
Bender added: “The festival could not be with the festival is without the support of our sponsors and partners that we work with – companies locally who help us with supplies and materials and labour ... and then our volunteers – we have people who take entire weeks off work to come out and make this happen.”
“We look forward to welcoming everyone back for our 82nd anniversary, Aug. 13 to 15, 2027,” Bender said.
“Be safe, be well, and keep tartan tidings close to your heart.”
