The Canmore Highland Games are getting an upgrade this year. For their 33rd anniversary, the event will expand to two full days of Celtic culture and tradition.
Celtic peoples were a group of Indo-European communities in Europe and Anatolia, recognized for using Celtic languages and shared cultural traits.
Today, the term ‘Celtic’ typically refers to the languages and cultures of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, and Brittany—known collectively as the Celtic nations.
These are the areas where Celtic languages are still spoken to some degree.
The earliest known people from Ireland living in Alberta were ranchers near Fort Macleod in the 1870s and 1880s. By 1916, Alberta had around 6,500 Irish immigrants.
The Canadian government promoted the Western Prairies as the central settlement area. It gave new settlers 160 acres of land for free initiating a mass migration to the region, many coming from Celtic regions.
Celtic culture was a big part of our province’s history, a history worth celebrating at the Canmore Highland Games!
Set to take place on August 31 and September 1; the Games are filling the gap left by the unexpected cancellation of the Calgary Highland Games, making this year’s event even more significant.
“We stepped up, took the bull by the balls, sort of thing, and said, ‘we’d go for a two-day Highland Games,'” said Sandy Bunch, president of the Canmore Highland Games.
The need for volunteers has also grown with the expansion to two days. Bunch estimates they’ll need around 300 to 350 volunteers to help set up, run, and take down the event.
However, with it being Labour Day weekend and the end of summer break, getting enough volunteers might be a challenge.
The number of volunteers will be a critical factor in deciding whether the Games will continue as a two-day event.
Sign up on the Canmore Highland Games Volunteer Page if you want to volunteer.
The festivities kick off on Saturday, August 31, in Centennial Park with a heavy sports-throwing clinic.
“People who’ve never thrown anything before can get them some lessons and some training, so they get a better idea without hurting themselves or other people when it comes to that,” Bunch explained.
Saturday’s lineup includes music, dancing, food trucks, a Celtic market, and the amateur and masters heavy games competition.
The action continues on Sunday, September 1, with the open, pro, and women’s heavy games competitions. Last year’s event saw some impressive feats of strength.
From Kettlebells To Cattle
Chuck Kasson from the USA, the 2018 heavy games world champion, wowed the crowd with a 32.6-foot sheaf toss, using a pitchfork to launch a 20-pound bag.
The sheaf toss originated in the Medieval Ages as a farming competition. The goal was to see who could use a pitchfork to throw a sheaf of hay, weighing between 16 and 20 pounds, the highest into the air.
Kasson tossed the equivalent of a car tire the length of two adult giraffes vertically with a rusty pitchfork.
Damien Fisher, who was ranked second in the world at the time, took first place in the pro category, followed by Kasson, who came in second, and British Columbia’s Alex McCara, who placed third.
The women’s competition also had its share of excitement. Calgary’s Siri Svensson was the only competitor to throw a perfect 12 o’clock caber, securing her first place.
Alexis Johnson took second, while Calgary’s Alisha Thompson came in third.
Johnson also set a Canadian women’s record at the Calgary heavy games last year, launching a 12-pound hammer 103 feet and nine inches.
In addition to the heavy games, the Canmore Highland Games will feature sheepdog demonstrations, a clan village, tug-of-war, whisky tastings, a beer garden, and a British car and motorcycle show.
For a full schedule of events, check out the Canmore Highland Games Event Schedule.
This year, the Highland cow and calf are making a comeback for the first time in years. They were pulled from the event in the past due to concerns over hand, foot, and mouth disease.
“People couldn’t go anywhere near the cattle, so we stopped having them, and they just never came back,” said Bunch.
The weekend will wrap up with the Canmore Ceilidh on Sunday evening, featuring The Rolling Drones from Glasgow, Scotland.
This six-person modern pipe band will also give a sneak peek of their music with a half-hour set on the main field on Saturday.
Whether you’re there for the sports, the music, the single malt whiskey, or just the atmosphere, the Canmore Highland Games promises to be an unforgettable weekend filled with Celtic culture…and lots of beer.
