The Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games is set to take place from Aug. 7 to 9 at the Centre Wellington Community Sportsplex.
Officials expect this year’s event to surpass those of previous years, with 2015 highlights that will include:
– a new Friday night concert featuring the Red Hot Chilli Pipers, an energetic Scottish band, included with the Tattoo, lighting ceremonies and fireworks;
– a new Scottish at Heart Workshop Series featuring Gillebride MacMillan, an author, gaelic singer-songwriter and actor on the Starz TV Outlander series who will teach gaelic and perform his original songs;
– Juno and East Coast Music awards nominee James Hill, a ukulele player who will give workshops for ukulele enthusiasts, east coast-style;
– David Leask, a skilled singer-songwriter who will lead a celtic music writing workshop;
– many more workshops for kids of all ages are also included;
– a new focus on families with younger children on Sunday, Family Day, with added activities and picnic areas to enhance the experience for kids;
– a Take Your Best Shot amateur photo contest for ages 16 and up, as well as an ages 4 to 15 contest with great prizes; and
– a world record caber toss attempt being repeated after the Inverness Games in Scotland beat the record the Fergus Scottish Festival achieved last year.
The event is being covered by the Discovery Channel’s Daily Planet TV show.
Other new activities behind the scenes have been the creation of a new website, an aggressive
Add to all of this the traditional “four pillars” of the Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games: the Scottish “heavies”, highland dance, pipes and drums competitions, and the largest clan gathering in Canada, with over 40 clans.
