Kilt Skate

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Sir John A's Birthday Brings Another Kilt Skate Partner

Don Cummer

Today marks the 205th anniversary of the architect of Canada’s Confederation and our first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. Tonight we’ll celebrate by inaugurating the first kilt skate on the east side of the Atlantic: the Tartan Kilt Skate Dublin.

The kilt skates began in the 1980s as a house party to celebrate Sir John A’s birthday by skating on Ottawa’s Rideau Canal Skateway. In 2014, as the bicentennial of Macdonald’s birthday approached, the Scottish Society of Ottawa approached Don Cummer to ask whether he would consider helping them organize a party on a city-wide level.

Federal money was available for bicentennial events, but we were told that funding would be possible only if the kilt skate were to be held at least three cities in three different provinces. The organization team took to the phones and the internet and within a week, Scottish societies and service clubs in Montreal, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Calgary had joined Ottawa in planning to celebrate Canada’s greatest Prime Minister with bare knees and ice.

That first kilt skate in January 2015 was scheduled on a day that proved to be one of the coldest of that winter, but sizable crowds turned out in each of the partner cities — especially Ottawa where some 200 thrawn participants skated down the Rideau Canal as one of the opening events of Winterlude.

Over the years, other cities and communities have joined the kilt skate family, including Lloydminster, Lethbridge, and Glengarry. Sometimes the skates have been held in sub-Arctic temperatures. At other times, some communities have had to cancel or relocate kilt skates because unseasonably warm temperatures made outdoor skating impossible.

In 2018, Glengarry introduced the first indoor kilt skate, held in a hockey arena in Maxville. Other cities have followed their example in recent years.

The kilt skate phenomenon has also spread beyond Canada’s borders. Last year saw the inaugural Tartan Kilt Skate NYC, and this evening we’ll be celebrating the first-ever kilt skate on the east side of the Atlantic, with the Tartan Kilt Skate Dublin.

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. The 2020 festival will run from August 7-9, and we’re delighted that they are taking this opportunity to celebrate Scottish culture in the skating season as well.

Watch for future blogs about the kilt skates scheduled for this winter:

Coming to a rink near you: