The kilt skate phenomenon continues to grow.  Tomorrow Boston, Massachusetts, will become the most recent city to celebrate Scottish culture with bare knees and ice. 

Scots, descendants of Scots, and anyone who wants to unleash the inner Scot are invited to join Karen (Campbell) Mahoney and her family at The Rink at 401 Park tomorrow between 12:30 and 2:00 p.m.  You don’t need to have a kilt. Wear something tartan, and bring your Scottish sense of fun and your fortitude.

Karen’s parents moved to the United States in 1960, and she is proud of her Scottish heritage. In her youth, she was a formal national US dancing champion.  Currently she teaches Highland dancing in the Boston area, and sits on the boards of several Scottish associations.  She learned about the kilt skate phenomenon through Facebook and decided to invite family and friends to join her in this unique way to highlight Scotland’s contribution to the multicultural fabric of America. 

Karen has been using social media to send word out to her contacts.  She also consulted with her colleague, Camilla Hellman of the American-Scottish Foundation – organizer of the Tartan Kilt Skate NYC.  Camilla put her in touch with www.kiltskate.com, and the website subsequently added the Boston skate to its Events page. 

Karen is now also connected to a network of community organizations that has been promoting kilt skates since 2015 when, under the guidance of the Scottish Society of Ottawa, four cities organized events to celebrate the bicentennial of Canada’s first Prime Minister. In both Canada and the United States, the Scottish Government has supported this year’s events, highlighting a young and forward-looking Scotland under the tagline “Scotland is Now.”

New kilt skate partners continue to use www.kiltskate.com to announce and promote their events.  The current communities include:

·         Dublin, January 11, 2020

·         Ottawa, January 18, 2020

·         Winnipeg, January 19, 2020

·         Montreal, January 25, 2020

·         Boston, February 1, 2020

·         New York City, February 1, 2020

·         Lethbridge, February 1, 2020

·         Toronto, February 8, 2020

·         Saskatoon, February 8, 2020

·         Calgary, February 9, 2020

·         Fergus, February 16, 2020

·         Glengarry, TBA (February 23, 2019)

·         Calgary, February 9, 2020

·         Fergus, February 16, 2020

·         Glengarry, TBA (February 23, 2019)

We’ll continue to report on the kilt skates as they take place across Canada.  Don’t hesitate to contact us if you want to host a kilt skate of your own.