People from near and far have travelled to Fredericton this weekend for the annual New Brunswick Highland Games Festival. “It’s a wonderful celebration of Scottish and Celtic culture in the Maritimes,” said festival chair Devin Patterson in an interview with CTV Your Morning Atlantic’s Crystal Garrett. The festival kicked off Friday night with a party featuring Mary Frances Leahy and Jimmy Rankin. Events will continue through the weekend with a variety of cultural events. “You’ll see competitions like the caber toss, stone weight for distance and height, the sheaf toss, so a couple different Scottish athletic competitions. If you’ve never seen it, it’s something to see,” said Patterson. The festival also features competitions in highland dancing, bagpipes and drums. There will also be workshops to get the public involved. “You can learn things like first steps in highland dance or how to play the bodhran as well as clans of genealogy groups that are teaching about their culture and you can also grab some local wares from our vendors and food space as well,” said Patterson. People come from all over to attend and participate in the games. “A big turnout from the Fredericton region, but we also see about 40 to 45 per cent of our visitors come from more than 75 kilometres away, so all over from the Maritimes,” said Patterson. “At the gates last year, I met some folks that came all the way from Northwest Territories and as far as Manitoba.” Patterson said it’s important to hold this festival year after year. “I think the Scots have left their mark and I think one of the great things about this festival, as we always say, ‘Be a Scot for the weekend.’ It’s such an inclusive and welcoming culture and we love to see people of all walks of life and all age groups take part and enjoy a little celebration and maybe some haggis along the way.” A kitchen party is scheduled to take place Saturday night featuring Vishtèn, The Stanfields and Joel Plaskett Emergency. The Highland Games Festival wraps up Sunday afternoon. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
