Kilt Skate Season is Shaping Up

The winter of 2023 is shaping up as one of the biggest and varied kilt skate seasons yet. New communities are coming to the party, and they are coming up with new ways to organize a kilt skate.

The first official event of the 2023 season will take place on January 25 in Lumsden, Saskatchewan, where for the past two years, JP Bautista-Hunter has sent photos of himself and his daughter kilt skating as part of the “Home Edition.” This year, he plans to combine the kilt skate with a poetry reading to celebrate Robbie Burns Day in the local library across the parking lot from the skating rink.

British Columbia is going to host its first-ever kiltskate on Saturday, February 18 in Vancouver. Not only is this the inaugural kilt skate on the West Coast, it is the first in Canada to our knowledge to be held in the evening: from 8:30 to 9:30 pm, with an apres-skate party scheduled in the Tap and Barrel Pub alongside the Shipyards Skate Plaza.

In the post-COVID world, Vancouver is one of the communities that requires kilt skaters to pre-register for the event. The deadline to pre-register for Montreal’s January 29 event passed last Friday. But don’t worry: those who have not registered yet can wait until a few days before the event and register on the City of Montreal’s site for skating at Verdun Auditorium.

After two years when COVID forced the cancellation of community events, Calgary’s kilt skate will be held on February 12 in conjunction with Chinook Winter Blast, the city’s annual winter festival.

There are no community events announced this year for Toronto, but organizers have set February 11 as the inaugural kilt skate in nearby Brampton at the Gage Park Outdoor Skating Recreational Trail. In addition to hot chocolate and doughnuts, the kilt skate is offering free Rob Roy MacGregor Tartan scarves.

Other first-time kilt skate communities include Quebec City on February 12 at a location to be announced, Moncton NB on February 18 at Centennial Park, and Oromocto NB at a date and place to be determined.

Fergus ON made a big impression with its kilt skates before the pandemic hit. The events were sidelined in past years because of public health protocols, but will be back again this year on February 26 and the Centre Wellington Sportsplex.

Past winners of bragging rights as Kilt Skate Capital of Canada are back for the 2023 season including Winnipeg which, after a foray into indoor kilt skate events, will return to the Riley Duck Pond at Assiniboine Park on February 26.

And two former Kilt Skate Capitals are competing on the same day and just a short drive down the highway from each other. North Glengarry will hold its event at the Maxville & District Sports Complex from 9 am to 1 pm on February 19, while up the Valley, Ottawa will hold its event at Lansdowne Park from 1-4 pm. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if a few hardy kilt skaters attended both events!

South of the border, a kilt skate has been announced for Concord NH on February 5. We’re still waiting to hear whether New York City will host its annual Tartan Kilt Skate NYC. There are several Canadian kilt skate cities that have yet to announce their date and location, but we will endeavour to keep the Event Pages up-to-date on www.kiltskate.com.

Stay tuned!