"Thrawn" -- a Kilt Skate Video
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With the 2023 kilt skate season just weeks away, the Scottish Society of Ottawa (SSO) has produced a video highlighting a Canadian tradition that continues to grow and flourish.
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A New Kilt Skate Season
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Winter is coming and, with it, a new kilt skate season. New Hampshire Scot, (NHSCOT) which draws its membership from across New England and beyond, told a Zoom meeting of kilt skate organizers that their second annual Great Kilt Skate will be help on Sunday, February 5, 2023, in Concord, New Hampshire.
Read MoreThe 2022 Kilt Skate Capital of Canada
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Well, wasn’t 2022 a curious kilt skate season! On the one hand, the kilt skate family is bigger than ever: this year it grew to 14 Canadian and 2 American cities. On the other hand, the rise of the Omicron Covid virus forced the cancellation of community kilt skates in 10 of those cities. But individuals and families carried on, holding their own socially-distanced “Home Edition” kilt skates.
Read MoreIt's a Wrap for the 2022 Kilt Skate Season
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The 2022 kilt skate season wrapped up in the first-ever community kilt skate held in one of Canada’s Atlantic provinces — on a day when winter wrapped Prince Edward Island in a last cold embrace.
Read MoreComing to a Rink Near You!
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A heavy dump of snow and a severe cold front has hit most of Canada. But that hasn’t stopped people from donning their kilts and strapping on the skates. Note that the Scots are a pragmatic people, innovative and adaptable. Don’t let the threat of frostbite interfere with winter fun: dress accordingly! If you need to, wear your longjohns or your leggings under your kilt.
Read MoreManitoba Salutes Kilt Skate Triumph
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“This week, a signal honour was bestowed upon the City of Winnipeg that embodies so much of what is great about our capital city: volunteerism, pride in cultural heritage and rivers to skate away on. On Monday, March 21, Winnipeg, Manitoba, was declared the Kilt Skate Capital of Canada by the Scottish Society of Ottawa, beating out Moncton, New Brunswick; Mauricie, Quebec; Regina, Saskatchewan; Almonte, Portland; Victoria Harbour and Lake Dalrymple, Ontario; and Calgary, Alberta…”
Read MoreThe 2021 Kilt Skate Capital of Canada
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To sum up: many former kilt skate capitals and many new communities responded to the challenge of the Great Canadian Kilt Skate — Home Edition. But there was one city that was a standout this year. For one thing, it sent us more pictures than any other community.
Read MoreWeek 8: A Party Wraps Up the Season
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Born out of necessity when the pandemic prevented community events, the Home Edition of the Great Canadian Kilt Skate has proved to be a tremendous success — one that will likely carry on into future kilt skate seasons. By encouraging people to skate on their own whenever and wherever they safely could, we .saw many come out to kilt skate for the first time — including Jim Hunter. Not only is Jim our first kilt skater from Regina, SK, he likely holds this year’s and perhaps the all-time record for the most senior kilt skater.
Read MoreKiltskate Party: Everyone Invited!
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What began as an idea by the Scottish Society of Ottawa (SSO) to have the 2021 kilt skate take place as a safe, socially-distanced “Home Edition” series of mini-events has morphed into a pan-Canadian party that will take place this Saturday across six time zones. February 27 will see an as-yet undetermined number of skaters across Canada join together in the first-ever Great Canadian Kilt Skate Zoom & Facebook Party.
Read MoreWeek 5: THRAWN
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A cold front hit much of Canada this past week and it may have discouraged some kilt skaters. But the Scots have a word for obstinate determination to do something that seems totally irrational to everyone else. That word is THRAWN. And “thrawn” may be the word that best describes those determined to celebrate Scottish culture with bare knees and ice. And pink skates no less!
Read MoreWeek 3: Kilts, Cottages and Burns Celebrations
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The third week of the Great Canadian Kilt Skate finds more Canadians celebrating Scottish heritage on the nearby outdoor ice where they can safely skate socially distanced. For the third week in a row (and her 18th skate so far this winter), the ever-enthusiastic Cathy Laver-Wright was flying the flags proudly on Winnipeg’s Centennial River Trail.
Read MoreCanada-wide “Kilt Skate” Goes Ahead, Adjusts to Pandemic Conditions
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COVID won’t stop Canadians from celebrating Scottish heritage by skating in kilts and tartans this winter. The Seventh Annual Great Canadian Kilt Skate will go ahead with a new twist – a “Home Edition.”
Read MoreComing Soon: Home Edition of Great Canadian Kilt Skate
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“Kilt skating began in 2015,” says Don Cummer, Director National Kilt Skate for the Scottish Society of Ottawa (SSO), which organizes the pan-Canadian event each winter. Some kilt skates bring together scores – even hundreds – of participants. “This year,” says Cummer, “we’re encouraging kilt skaters to stay safe. Skate on your own. Get out with your family. Follow the rules. Have a good time this winter. Oh, and send pictures to #kiltskate.”
Read MoreCanada's 2020 Kilt Skate Capital
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The 2020 kilt skate season seems long ago and a world away. In this year of pandemic, it’s good to remember how, last winter, we were able to gather together in numbers and celebrate Scottish heritage with food, dance, and lacing up the skates. All in all, it was an outstanding season for bare knees and ice.
Read More2020 Canal Skateway Season Ends
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At just 31 days of skating, the 2020 season of the Rideau Canal Skateway has been among the shortest, but it’s been wonderful nonetheless. After returning from Dublin in early February, I managed to get out on the Skateway a total of 11 times. Now that I can look back on some wonderful times.
Read MoreOttawa's 6th Annual Kilt Skate and the 50th Opening of Rideau Canal Skateway
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Although the thermometer has been above freezing for most of the past weeks, in recent days, winter has come back with a vengeance. The morning of the kilt skate dawned with temperatures of minus-25 with the wind chill, and a blizzard forecast for that evening. But none of this stopped the intrepid skaters, many of whom have been coming out year after year ever since Ottawa hosted its first kilt skate to celebrate the bicentennial of Sir John A. Macdonald in 2015.
Read MoreSir John A's Birthday Brings Another Kilt Skate Partner
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And today, on Sir John A. Macdonald Day, we’re pleased to announce the latest addition to the kilt skate family. The town of Fergus, Ontario, will hold its first kilt skate on Sunday, February 16, at the Centre Wellington Sportsplex. Check the events page for more details. The kilt skate is being organized by the Fergus Scottish Festival which has been celebrating Scottish culture and hosting Highland games since 1946.
Read MoreWhisky Tasting Launches Scottish Festival
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Each year, we look forward to the Tutored Whisky Tasting that Emmett Hossack organizes on behalf of the Scottish Society of Ottawa (SSO). It’s held on the Sunday closest to the feast day of St. Andrew, patron saint of Scotland, and it serves as the launch of SSO’s two-month long Scottish Festival. This year, the weekend also corresponds with the opening of the City of Ottawa refrigerated outdoor rinks. Since the Lansdowne Skating Court. is just a few hundred yards from the tutored whisky tasting at Milestones Grill, it was also a perfect opportunity to begin this winter’s kilt skating.
Read MoreAnd the 2019 Kilt Skate Capital is...
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In 2018, the counties of Glengarry introduced an important innovation to the kilt skate phenomenon. For the first time, a skate was held in an indoor arena, combined with a social full of music, food and beverages and lots of fellowship in the warmth of an arena hall. Glengarry kept the event indoors again in 2019, and within a few days, a video of the skating had 200,000 likes on Facebook.
Read MoreLethbridge joins the Kilt Skate Family
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The kilt skate phenomenon continues to grow. An event that began as a house party has now expanded to include the City of Lethbridge on the southern prairies of Alberta.
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