Winnipeg's Goldilocks Kilt Skate

At the geographical centre of North America, Winnipeg, Manitoba, is subject to the vagaries of the seasons. One winter (2017) was so warm the ice melted and the kilt skate was cancelled. Last year’s Great Canadian Kilt Skate was so cold as to daunt all but the most intrepid of skaters. This year, the conditions were just right, and Winnipeggers showed their appreciation by coming out in numbers to the skating rink at Riley Family Duck Pond in Assiniboine Park.

Among the 80-or-so skaters who came out on the Sunday of Family Day Weekend this year were soldiers of the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada. Several of them were among the brave souls who, last year, bared their knees to minus-40 temperatures. This year, not only did the Camerons and other skaters enjoy a balmy outdoor temperature of minus-10, they could lace up indoors in the comfort of a warm changing room.

And as an added bonus, there was hot chocolate on hand — courtesy of Tim Hortons.

The comforts of an indoor change hut did not tempt some of the skaters. On such a beautiful, bright winter day, rinkside skate changes are no hardship.

The hardy Camerons were not the only ones to enjoyed the best weather for skating after enduring the worst. Back for another season of tartan and ice was Cathy Laver-Wright (shown here with her daughter.) In the Covid winter, when we introduced the Home Edition as an alternative to community events, Cathy skated Winnipeg’s rivers every day. Her enthusiasm helped earn Winnipeg the laurels as the 2021 Kilt Skate Capital of Canada.

Many other Winnipeggers are veterans of the annual kilt skate. Five-year-old Luke (here with his grandmother, kilt skate organizer Evelyn Mitchell) attended his first kilt skate when he was two weeks old and has been back every year since. So has Evelyn’s friend Helen Wylie who always brings a smile and a giggle to the festivities by wearing her “Jimmy Hat.”

On the other hand, some skaters were not only experiencing their first kilt skate, but also their first Canadian winter. The Zibrov family has recently arrived from Ukraine. Serghi is holding the Ukrainian flag, his mother and wife wear their parka hoods up, and the kids are making use of trainer support frames while they learn how to skate.

This year’s Winnipeg kilt skate began with the skirl of the pipes as the Camerons paraded en file to the ice. Walking in skates can be tricky — especially down a slope. A photographer from the Winnipeg Sun captured the moment when the lead piper slipped and fell.