The sweltering heat couldn’t keep the crowds away from Glengarry Highland Games 75th edition. From the opening of the gates on Friday morning to the last notes in the music venues on Saturday night, Games fans celebrated their favourite summer event and their Scottish heritage. The Games organizing committee and the hundreds of volunteers had big smiles on their tired faces as the massed bands completed their performance and left the field.
And what a Games it was! On Friday, athletes in the Women’s, Amateurs and Masters overcame the oppressive heat to show off their skills in the heavy events. Pipers and drummers found shady spots as they competed in their solo events. Crowds packed the air-conditioned venues to watch a sold-out harp workshop and the Youth Fiddlers showcasing the best of young Glengarry fiddlers. In the covered Patron’s patio, the seats were filled as Scotland’s National Chef Gary MacLean, wowed them with his cooking skills and his humourous commentary while he created mouth-watering Scottish favourites on two Coleman stoves. The samples of his offerings were quickly scoffed up even down to scraping the cooking spoons. The Metcalfe Centre overflowed with people enjoying not only the cooler air but also a superb lineup of Glengarry musicians of all ages.
75th special event
This year’s Tattoo saw full grandstands with the area from the grandstand to the infield lined with rows of chairs some put in place since Thursday morning by people wanting to secure the prime spots. The fans were not disappointed as massed bands, the MacCulloch Dancers, the RCAF Pipes and Drums with their graceful dancers, Glengarry’s Hadrian’s Wall, Scotland’s lively Gleadhraich, and Cape Breton’s Barra MacNeils kept the crowd clapping and cheering. One much anticipated part of the evening was this year’s 75th special event, a drone show. And it was amazing as the black night sky became alive with coloured dots that circled around and then moved into popular shapes like a fiddle with a moving bow, a dancer’s shoe, the flag of Scotland and to great cheers, the Canadian flag. As the last drone twinkled off, a fantastic fireworks display erupted to top off a memorable Tattoo and day.
Saturday brought more heat and more people. One event that drew a huge audience and roars of approval was this year’s presentation of the Scottish Heavy Events World Championships. Ten athletes from around the world soon showed the crowds why they were world class athletes. The Games has seen some remarkable heavy events, but the feats of these athletes were amazing. In temperatures close to 40C, they competed throughout the day under the sun. At the end of the day, the competition crowned John Van Beuren of California for the third straight year as World Champion in Scottish Heavy Events. Over in the Wee Bairns area, a record number of 2,000 children visited the shady area set up with a petting zoo, pony rides, face painting and entertainment. The Clan parade at noon hour reminded the filled grandstands about the pride of Scots for their tartan and their traditions as clans circled the infield with the banners flying followed by loyal clansmen waving to the crowds. The Official Ceremonies were most poignant as this year’s President Don Gamble, grandson of Games co-founder, Doc Gamble, welcomed his uncle Reg as Guest of Honour.
Revered Scottish tradition
As part of the 75th commemoration, twenty people who attended the first Games in 1948 were seated in a special area and recognized by the President for this accomplishment and for their long-term support of the Games. Many of those recognized have attended almost every Games.
A full afternoon of athletic events, Celtic music, shopping and visiting was capped off by the moment most Games fans wait for all year and that was the massed pipe bands performance at the closing of the Games. This year was one of the best with fifty pipe bands filling the infield cheered on by a capacity crowd. The drum fanfare which was inaugurated last year attracted over 80 drummers from the pipe bands who performed without a flaw with the crowds erupting frequently with cheers and applause. Then when the Ottawa Highlanders Pipes and Drums started up the first notes of Amazing Grace, the crowd grew silent and listened as every note lingered. When the other thousand pipers and drummers joined in, the music swelled to a crescendo before the Highlanders took over to complete the piece. The thunderous appreciation from the audience was not only for the musicians on the field but also a salute to another wonderful Games.
The 75th edition of the Glengarry Highland Games was a perfect celebration of our storied past and a signal that this revered Scottish tradition will continue to be a fan favourite for another ¾ of a century and more. See you next year at the Games and we’ll get to do it all over again.
Mark your calendars now with August 1 & 2, 2025. For full details on competition results, go to: www.glengarryhighlandgames.com.