Ten Years of Kilt Skate Capitals

With the 2024 kilt skate season wrapped up, and the ice all melted, it’s time to look back on a ten-year legacy of bragging rights as the Kilt Skate Capital of Canada. What does it take to become a kilt skate capital? Over the 10 years different communities have found their own way to distinguish themselves.

In 2015 no city was designated as a Kilt Skate Capital because no one thought that kilt skating would turn out to be as popular as it has become. But without a doubt the event put on that year by the Scottish Society of Ottawa was outstanding in the number of skaters who participated (around 200); a picturesque venue (the Rideau Canal Skateway); on-stage entertainment of pipers, dancers and singers; opening ceremonies that included mayors, ice hogs, and birthday cakes; enthusiastic coverage by local media; and even an ice sculpture featuring a kilted Sir John A. Macdonald on skates.

In 2016 the original five kilt skate cities returned for another season. Kilt skates were organized in Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Calgary, but it was Saskatoon that was, for the first time, officially declared the kilt skate capital. The Saskatoon Highland Dancing Association brought out skaters young and young-at-heart — including the first known instance of a piper piping as he skated. They had excellent media interviews. But the icing on the cake was the opportunity to participate in a snowball fight across the street where the people of Saskatoon earned another bragging right that day: the Guinness world record for the world’s largest snowball fight.

The 2017 bragging rights as the Kilt Skate Capital of Canada went to Calgary, where the St. Andrew-Caledonian Society took over as the organizer of the event for the first time and hosted a skate that brought out the dancers, the choirs, the pipers, the skaters, and Harry the Hound — the mascot of the Calgary Flames.

Toronto hosted its second kilt skate in 2018 at Nathan Phillips Square, organized by the Sons of Scotland. The crowds came out — both skaters and onlookers on a sunny winter day. Such energy — and it helped make Toronto the 2018 Kilt Skate Capital of Canada.

The kilt skate capital bragging rights in 2019 went to the Township of North Glengarry held in Maxville, ON. The previous year, Maxville saw the first kilt skate to be held indoors in a hockey arena. For 2019, the organizers once again combined skating with a social and a ceilidh. That year, local army cadets came out in numbers. A video of them skating in march tempo to the skirl of the pipes went viral on Facebook.

The following year, the 2020 kilt skate laurels went to the Township of South Glengarry for their huge success in combining a an indoor kilt skate and ceilidh with an outdoor winter carnival, complete with sledding, sleigh rides, and marshmallow roasts.

Just a couple of weeks after the South Glengarry kilt skate, the world shut down and during the Covid pandemic it doubtful whether kilt skating would be possible under public quarantines. But a zoom meeting of kilt skate organizers across the country came up with a new idea: a Home Edition kilt skate where individuals and families were invited to send their photos of their socially-distanced event on their own pond, river, canal or outdoor rink. The response from across the country was phenomenal, But nowhere more than in Winnipeg which earned the 2021 Kilt Skate Capital of Canada. This was also the year when the prestige of being named kilt skate capital was celebrated in the Manitoba legislature.

After that, partner communities seemed to compete more vigorously for bragging rights. No one more than the Scottish Society of Ottawa. The organizer of the first kilt skate in 2015 was celebrating its tenth anniversary as an organization in 2022. The SSO pulled out all the stops in putting together their usual great event, but what really put Ottawa over the top as the 2022 Kilt Skate Capital of Canada was the continued enthusiasm of local individuals and families who sent their photos and videos as part of the Home Edition.

The 2023 kilt skate crown returned to Winnipeg — this time because of a well publicized, well run community event that brought skaters out onto the Riley Duck Pond one a bright sunny day perfect for skating.

So this brings us to 2024 and a kilt skate season that saw events planned in 13 communities, of which three had to be cancelled. Among the 10 who were able to host events, there were many standout features. Special mention to Pembroke ON for its first-ever kilt skate that not only combined outdoor skating and indoor social elements, but also raised money for charity.

In a very tight field of community kilt skates from Antigonish to Calgary, there were several events that deserve to be celebrated, but this year the laurels as the 2024 Kilt Skate Capital of Canada go to Fergus ON. For several years now, Elizabeth Bender and her team at the Fergus Scottish Festival have put on an excellent kilt skate event. A Fergus kilt skate is always colourful with big crowds, lots of tartan, and flags flying. Fergus benefits from great media coverage in the community, including the Wellington Examiner. Fergus always has little added touches — such as transferable tattoos and lots of goodies. In addition to the pipe band, this year, the musical offering was augmented by a rinkside ceilidh. Have a look at the video they put together and see how much fun everyone is having. Congratulations, Fergus!

Kilt Skate's Tenth Season

This year — 2024 — marks the tenth year in which skaters across Canada have celebrated their Scottish heritage by taking to the ice in tartans and kilts. Back in 2015, five cities (Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Calgary) hosted kilt skates as a way to celebrate the bicentennial of the birthday of Canada’s first Prime Minister. This year, 13 communities posted their plans for a kilt skate event and 10 went on to host an event.

Some have been hosting events for several years; others were inaugurating their first-ever community kilt skate event. The first kilt skate of the 2024 season was held in Montreal — one of the original kilt skate cities from ten years ago. Over the decade, Montreal has had to reschedule kilt skates —because of blizzards, rather than warm fronts. Montreal has consequently held its annual kilt skate in indoor arenas. And that’s where they launched the 2024 kilt skate season with an event on January 28.

Next up, on February 3, was Toronto. In 2016, the inaugural Toronto kilt skate consisted of one lone skater waving the flag and baring his knees on the iconic outdoor rink at Nathan Phillips Square. For the next three years the event was held on the outdoor ice, but in 2020, in a partnership with the American Hockey League Toronto Marleys, the event was moved indoors. Last year the Toronto-area event was held outdoors in nearby Brampton. This year, new organizers chose a new venue: the skating rink at Evergreen Brick Works in the picturesque Don Valley.

The following weekend saw the Great Canadian Kilt Skate return to Calgary where, since 2015 the event has been held at the Olympic Plaza. For the second year running, Calgary’s kilt skate has been included as part of the Chinook Blast winter festival.

The following weekend at the other end of the country, another kilt skate was tied into a winter carnival: Moncton NB’s PolarFest. It was Moncton’s second annual event, held out on the Muskrat Trail of Centennial Park.

The Ottawa Valley is the heartland of kilt skating, and this year, four kilt skates were organized in the region. One of them in Russell ON had to be cancelled. On February 17 (the same day as Moncton’s event) the first ever kilt skate in Renfrew County was held on outdoor ice in Pembroke ON. The organizers put together a winter carnival at the local recreation centre and the positive response augurs very well for a return to Pembroke next year.

The very next day (Sunday, February 18) 150 kms down the road from Pembroke, the 10th annual Great Canadian Kilt was held in the birthplace of kilt skating: Ottawa ON. Once again, Ottawa had a large turnout on the outdoor rink at Lansdowne Park where the Scottish Society of Ottawa has been hosting events since 2016. (The inaugural event in 2015 was held on the Rideau Canal Skateway.)

In many provinces, the following day (Monday, February 19) was a holiday, and in Antigonish NS the organizers took advantage of the long weekend to host its second annual Great Canadian Kilt Skate. Home to the Antigonish Highland Games, the kilt skate enjoys strong support from the local community.

For the Sunday (February 25) three kilt skates were scheduled in communities in two different provinces. In the Ottawa Valley, the biannual South Glengarry kilt skate was held at the hockey arena in Williamstown ON — the third of the four Ottawa Valley events.

Later that afternoon, about 500 kms south and west, Fergus ON held another in its series of flag-waving kilt skates at the Centre Wellington Sportsplex. Like Antigonish, Fergus hosts a renowned Highland festival each summer, and there is a lot of community support for a winter activity such as a kilt skate.

The third of the kilt skates scheduled for that day was originally to be held on February 11 in Winnipeg MB. But that weekend’s warm weather rendered the Riley Family Duck Pond at Assiniboia Park unskateable. Rather than cancel outright, the organizers rescheduled for February 25 — and the gamble paid off with a perfect winter day for kilt skating.

The three kilt skates on February 25 proved to be the grand finale of a terrific kilt skate season. Some communities kept up a tradition that has been going back as long as a decade; others hosted their first events and hopefully established a tradition they’ll maintain for winters to come.

All in all, 2024 proved to be a very successful kilt skate season. The idea of celebrating Scotland’s contribution to Canada with bare knees and ice continues to grow, and we’re confident that the kilt skate communities will return again next year with more to be added.