On February 26, 2023, the pent-up demand was finally released and an estimated 150 people showed up at the Centre Wellington Sportsplex to celebrate with bare knees and ice Scotland’s contribution to Canada.
Read MoreThis year, the conditions were just right, and Winnipeggers showed their appreciation by coming out in numbers to the skating rink at Riley Family Duck Pond in Assiniboine Park.
Read MoreThis year, Moncton made the Great Canadian Kilt Skate part of the celebrations of its first-ever Polar Fest/Festipolaire — a winter festival at Centennial Park during the Family Day weekend. Kilt skaters were treated to a gorgeous winter day on the new (created last year) Muskrat Skating Trail.
Read MoreNova Scotia: Latin for “New Scotland.” A fertile ground (rink?) for a kilt skate, you’d think. And you’d be right! On Family Day Monday, the Antigonish Highland Society hosted Nova Scotia’s first-ever Great Canadian Kilt Skate, and wow, did Nova Scotians ever step up — and out onto the ice.
Read MoreThe weather patterns this winter have been…unpredictable. But for the second straight year, Concord, New Hampshire, has lucked onto the perfect day for a kilt skate on a frozen pond.
Read MoreWith the 2023 kilt skate season just weeks away, the Scottish Society of Ottawa (SSO) has produced a video highlighting a Canadian tradition that continues to grow and flourish.
Read MoreWinter is coming and, with it, a new kilt skate season. New Hampshire Scot, (NHSCOT) which draws its membership from across New England and beyond, told a Zoom meeting of kilt skate organizers that their second annual Great Kilt Skate will be help on Sunday, February 5, 2023, in Concord, New Hampshire.
Read MoreWell, 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 MoreThe 2022 kilt skate season wrapped up in the first-ever community kilt skate held in one of Canada’s Atlantic provinces — on a day when winter wrapped Prince Edward Island in a last cold embrace.
Read MoreThe Townships of North and South Glengarry take turns hosting a kilt skate each year. Last year’s was called off because of the pandemic. This year it was South Glengarry’s turn again, and they proved once more that the Glengarries know how to throw a party. The kids couldn’t wait to get back out on the ice.
Read MoreIt’s 2022 and the Great Canadian Kilt Skate is back in full force for community skating. This marks the eighth year in which the Scottish Society of Ottawa has helped organize kilt skates — not only in Ottawa but across Canada. After last year’s very successful “Home Edition” where skaters took to the ice in their own socially distanced bubbles, this year provided an opportunity at last to get together socially.
Read MoreEach winter since 2015, the Saskatoon Highland Dancing Association has hosted a community kilt skate. This year, like others before, the photos from the event feature young children at the beginning of their dancing career and the beginning of what we hope will be a lifelong love of skating.
Read MoreFor the fourth year, Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan has hosted the Tartan Kilt Skate NYC. This year, once again, skaters gathered in their kilts and tartans to celebrate Scottish heritage.
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 MoreThere have been many elements that have led to a particular community being named the Kilt Skate Capital. But since the pandemic began, one of the most important has been the number of photos and video submission to the SSO’s gallery. It doesn’t matter whether your community’s event has been cancelled due to COVID. It doesn’t even matter whether your community has had plans for a kilt skate at all. Send us your pictures and videos!
Read MoreA heavy dump of snow and a severe cold front has hit most of Canada. But that hasn’t stopped people from donning their kilts and strapping on the skates. Note that the Scots are a pragmatic people, innovative and adaptable. Don’t let the threat of frostbite interfere with winter fun: dress accordingly! If you need to, wear your longjohns or your leggings under your kilt.
Read MorePhotos from kilt skaters across the country were posted on the Gallery at ottscot.ca. And for the first time, the Scottish Society of Ottawa (SSO), which organizes the Great Canadian Kilt Skate nationally, undertook a survey of kilt skate participants.
Read More“This week, a signal honour was bestowed upon the City of Winnipeg that embodies so much of what is great about our capital city: volunteerism, pride in cultural heritage and rivers to skate away on. On Monday, March 21, Winnipeg, Manitoba, was declared the Kilt Skate Capital of Canada by the Scottish Society of Ottawa, beating out Moncton, New Brunswick; Mauricie, Quebec; Regina, Saskatchewan; Almonte, Portland; Victoria Harbour and Lake Dalrymple, Ontario; and Calgary, Alberta…”
Read MoreTo sum up: many former kilt skate capitals and many new communities responded to the challenge of the Great Canadian Kilt Skate — Home Edition. But there was one city that was a standout this year. For one thing, it sent us more pictures than any other community.
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.
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across canada, communities host kilt skates to celebrate scotland’s contribution to our multicultural fabric.
