More than 50 clans took part last weekend in the Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games – about 10 more than in previous years.
And though official numbers have not yet been tallied, organizers are already predicting a dramatic increase in the number of visitors to the 73rd annual event, which ran from Aug. 10 to 12.
“It’s been an exceptional year,” said Lee Puddephatt, marketing co-chair for the 2018 Fergus Scottish Festival.
Despite not having final numbers, Puddephatt, who has helped organize the Highland games for a number of years, said, “It definitely feels like more than last year, and last year there was 16,500 (visitors).”
Puddephatt attributes this year’s success to the sunny weather, to crowd-drawing special guest Graham McTavish from the show Outlander and to new events introduced this year.
New additions
The first new addition was whisky tasting, featuring a women-only time slot, which sold out both days.
Also new to the Highland Games was the Canadian Scottish Athletic Federation’s 2018 Women’s Championship, which took place on the main field.
Olympic athlete Sultana Frizelle set a new Canadian record at the event on Sunday during the Braemar stone toss.
The Canadian Scottish Regiments was another addition to the games and festival in general. The regiments held displays on both days over the weekend and took part in a tug-of-war competition on Sunday. The sport itself has deep roots in Scottish culture.
Six teams, including the Royal Highland Fusiliers, with soldiers from Wellington County, faced each other in the all-day tug-of-war event.
All of these events, according to Puddephatt will be featured again at future festivals.
“We are always trying to keep it as close to the Scottish heritage as we can,” said Puddephatt.
“I think every single event planner nailed it this year.
“They were very conscious of respecting this mission statement to always go back to this cultural heritage.”
