News Release: Celebrating Sir John A's Birthday Today
/Preamble to Saturday’s Great Skate!
Kilt Skate Organizers Test Their Kilts and Skates on Sir John A’s Birthday
OTTAWA—Today is the 201st anniversary of Canada’s first Prime Minister, and the organizers of Sir John A’s Great Canadian Kilt Skate will mark it by…well, kilt skating.
“Our big event in Ottawa is this Saturday at noon,” says Don Cummer of the Scottish Society of Ottawa. “But some of us decided to mark this important anniversary by donning our kilts and our skates, and getting our knees accustomed to the cold.”
Cummer and those who want to join him will skate at the Rink of Dreams in front of City Hall at 5:30 today. He’ll be available to answer questions from reporters and passers-by, who might wonder why anyone would skate in a kilt when the high for today is forecast at 11 below.
“It’s a perfect winter day,” says Cummer. “Sunny and cold! That’s how we like it.”
The 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.
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