Grab opportunities to skate when they come -- whether in a kilt or not. On Friday morning, the sun was bright, the temperatures cold, the wind wicked, and the rink at Nathan Phillips Square almost deserted. With a half hour before the stores at the Eaton's Centre to open, and one hour before a scheduled reading, there's more than enough time to freeze the knees.
Read MoreWe've been trying to bring kilt skating to Toronto, so when a conference brings you to the big city, then pack the skates and the kilt, bring along the flag, and see if you can make some friends.
Read MoreOttawa's Winterlude begins Friday. Montreal's kilt skate is Saturday. In Saskatoon, Sunday brings the finale of the Wintershines festival: a kilt skate followed by the world's biggest snowball fight. What a great weekend for winter-lovers.
Read MoreThe great thing about this year is that Robbie Burns suppers takes place on a Friday, but the national poet's birthday falls on a Monday. That means that there's a full weekend when we can all feel very Scottish.
Heck, the entire month of January should be proclaimed "Scottish Month in Canada."
Read MoreThe Canadian has done this many times before. The Brazilian learned to skate only a month ago. The Mexican has not been on skates since he was a small boy. They've all come down to the Rideau Canal Skateway to enjoy the world's largest skating rink.
Read MoreSo this weekend, let's feel for all the wee and slicket timorous beasties. Let's ponder how the best laid plans o' mice and men gang aft a-gley. Let's try to see ourselves as others see us. Let's acknowledge that that the finest hours that e'er we spend are spent among the lasses-o. Let's drink a cup of kindness yet for auld lang syne. Let's be thankit because we hae meat and we can eat. Let's celebrate the man of independent mind who looks and laughs at a' that. Let's keep our hearts in the highlands, a-chasing the deer. Let's cherish our loves -- the red red roses, newly sprung in June. And let's admit that, had we never lov'd sae kindly, and had we never lov'd sae blindly, and never met—or never parted -- we had ne'er been broken-hearted.
Read MoreThe ice is a bit rough, but we expect that on the first day. Everyone on the Rideau Canal Skateway was just happy to have a 3.8 km portion of the world's longest skating rink open on a perfect winter afternoon -- sunny, minus 10 degrees, and no wind. Here's some pix.
Read MoreThe season is starting late. Two years ago, we were skating the canal on New Year's Eve. The latest was February 2, 2002. Just couple of weeks ago, the canal was buried in snow. The ice was too thin for maintenance, and the temperatures refused to drop low enough to hurry the freezing process along.
Read MoreThis is the weekend where it is dangerous to be a "great chieftan o the puddin' race." Tonight around the world, Scots will honour the great national poet, Robbie Burns. One of the highlights of the evening will be the "Address to a Haggis" in which the knife is plunged into the poor beastie, "Trenching your gushing entrails bright."
Read MoreThey know how to do things right in Saskatoon! As a finale to the PotashCorpWintershines Festival, Sir John A's Great Canadian Kilt Skate will be followed by an attempt to break the Guinness world record for the world's largest snowball fight. Will any of the kilt skaters join the battle? A sporran would make a great place to store snowballs -- much more practical than pockets.
Read MoreThe cold snap continues, and we have hopes that the Rideau Canal Skateway will open soon. The National Capital Commission won't raise the green flags until there's 30 cms of good ice -- enough to support crowds of 10,000 people who show up forWinterlude at a given time.
Read MoreIt was a bitterly cold Saturday in Alberta, but the Optimist Clubs in Calgary and High River stoked the fire pits at the Olympic Plaza skating rink, and strapped on their skates. A few strapped tartan towels, courtesy of Canadian Tire, around their waists. But some brave souls were willing to embrace the cold with enthusiasm and joy. Well done, Calgary!
Read MoreWell, did you ever! What a swell party that was! The officials were on hand, the media was on hand, the skaters were on hand in all their kilted glory. Oh, and there was free birthday cake and hot chocolate for the kids of all ages. Here's some early photos of today's kilt skate, courtesy of Homero Martinez who has come here all the way from Mexico City, plus a couple of pix of our own.
Read MoreThe morning began with an interview with Matt Skube from CFRA, and a challenge to Mayor Jim Watson to put on his skates when he officially launches the 2nd Annual Sir John A's Great Canadian Kilt Skate this afternoon. Matt says he's willing to donate money if we'll get the mayor on skates. His colleague, Christie, says he might be pushing it a bit far to persuade His Worship to don a kilt as well.
Read MoreThe Chinook winds have cleared away much of the snow in the Stampede City. But the Arctic front has returned and the forecast calls for a dusting of snow and a wind chill of minus 20 by the time the Optimist Clubs in Calgary and High River launch the 2nd Annual Sir John A's Great Canadian Kilt Skate. Once again, the skate will take place at Olympic Plaza between noon and 4 p.m.
Read MoreAlix used this morning's broadcast to introduce Hamish of the Clan Haggis and his wife Heather to a television audience. Hamish and Heather recently arrived in Ottawa from Scotland and are the mascots of the Scottish Society of Ottawa. Alix designed them herself and hand makes them. She and her son are putting final touches on her website where Hamish and Heather will be available for purchase.
Read MoreLess than 48 hours to go for the kilt skates scheduled in Ottawa and Calgary, and the organizers are scrambling with last minute details and media interviews.
Read MoreThe Rink of Dreams is a wonderful facility -- an oval lit overhead and with illuminated sideboards that change colours. At that hour, there were only a handful of skaters, but more and more arrived as the evening darkened.
Read MoreThe Scottish Society is “warming up” for the major event starting at noon this Saturday, January 16, at the Lansdowne Park Skating Court. Skaters in kilts and other Scottish regalia are invited to come for hot chocolate and birthday cake. Mayor Jim Watson is scheduled to officially launch the 2nd Annual Sir John A’s Great Canadian Kilt Skate at 12:30 on Saturday. Other kilt skates this month are planned for Calgary, Montreal, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg.
Read MoreIt began as an annual house party on Riverdale Avenue to mark two birthdays -- Sir John A. Macdonald’s, and mine.
Last year, it morphed into a full-blown winter festival in five Canadian cities to celebrate the bicentennial of our first Prime Minister. It became one of the opening events of Winterlude 2015.
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across canada, communities host kilt skates to celebrate scotland’s contribution to our multicultural fabric.
