The annual Calgary Highland Games will be happening once again at the Springbank Park for All Seasons.
The games will take place Aug. 30 and is one of the oldest gatherings in North America, celebrating 101 years since it started.
The first was held in Victoria Park in Calgary Aug. 9, 1913.
The day begins at 8:30 a.m. with the dancing, drumming and solo piping competitions, and at 9 a.m. the heavy events begin including events such as the stone, hammers, weight-over bar and the iconic caber toss. Teams hail from Nova Scotia, Ontario, Alberta and all over Western Canada.
At 12:30 p.m. the opening ceremonies will kick off with drum major and pipe band competitions to follow throughout the day.
The closing ceremonies will be at 5 p.m.
There will be a family friendly festival tent with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, Scottish food for everyone and entertainment.
There will be two charity soccer games during the day in support of the Calgary Interfaith Food Bank. Admission to the soccer games is a non-perishable food item.
The first one begins at 9:30 am and will feature Scotland versus England and the second will be at 11 a.m. and will have the Rangers Supporters Club versus the Liverpool Supporters Club.
There will also be the Caledonian Exterior tug for charity where teams play tug of war with a rope to earn $5,000 for the charity of their choice.
The chieftain for this year’s game will be Ken McTavish from Calgary. According to his bio on the games website, he began playing the bagpipes nearly 30 years ago, joining both the Al Azhar and Clan Maxwell Pipes and Drums bands, and became the grand piper of the Grand Lodge of Alberta Masons.
For more information visit calgaryhighlandgames.org.
