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 MoreOn a sunny but cold afternoon, Scots and Scots-at-heart from near and far gathered at the skating pond at White Park in Concord, NH. The event was organized and hosted by the New Hampshire Scots, who were pleased with the turnout and impressed that some skaters had driven more than an hour to take part in the first-ever kilt skate in their state — the first-ever in New England..
Read MoreFor the second year in a row, the Home Edition of the Great Canadian Kilt Skate is proving very popular. It was initiated in response to the Covid social distancing protocols, but in recent weeks, as public health officials relax some of the measures, two cities that had originally cancelled their community events in favour of Home Edition have announced new dates for their community events.
Read MoreBorn 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 MoreWhat 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 MoreThe pandemic has made us innovate. When public health protocols made community events problematic, we adapted. Everyone was encouraged to kilt skate in a safe, outdoor, socially distanced manner in what we dubbed the Great Canadian Kilt Skate — Home Edition. Now in the GreateriToronto Area (GTA), they’re taking innovation to the next step: the Great Canadian Kilt Skate Zoom & Facebook Party. Join it from 11 a.m. until noon on Saturday February 27.
Read MoreThis year, we’ve invited everyone to send us photos and videos from their own socially-distanced kilt skate. It’s part of the Great Canadian Kilt Skate — Home Edition. Over the past weeks we’ve received terrific photos and videos. We’ve highlighted them over the weekly blogs.
Read MoreA polar vortex may have descended on much of Canada bringing subarctic temperatures, but the days are getting longer and brighter. And no matter what the thermometer says, Canadians are getting out onto the ice in our kilts and tartans. For the MacPherson family in Ottawa, kilts add a new twist to the national game.
Read MoreA 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 MoreOn Robbie Burns Day day itself, Cathy was interviewed by CTV Television under the title “How You can help Winnipeg become Canada’s Kilt Skate Capital.” Cathy again emphasizes that you don’t have to be Scottish to participate in the kilt skate. “You only have to have Scottish spirit, which all of us have inside us.” She was also asked whether it’s ok to wear longjohns under the kilt. Some may dispute her answer, but let me point out that Cathy has been skating daily throughout a very cold Winnipeg winter. And that “Scottish spirit”” she talks about includes a healthy dose of pragmatism.
Read MoreThe 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 MoreThese past weeks of continued pandemic, some provincial governments have tightened their public health protocols, urging people to stay indoors and stay isolated. In Ontario, the list of reasons to leave home includes exercise, and local governments add their own restrictions on how and where to do it. If you’re going to skate, they caution, do it locally. Well, you can’t get more local than the stream that runs through your property in South Glengarry — now frozen so that, as Joni Mitchell longed for, you have a river you can skate away on.
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across canada, communities host kilt skates to celebrate scotland’s contribution to our multicultural fabric.
