Editor Pick
Highland Flinging - Och Aye!
- July 26, 2008
- Rated 5 of 5 by
tvordj from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
The Halifax Highland Games and Scottish Festival is held on a Saturday in July every year. Up to this year (2008) it has been held at the Wanderers Grounds in Halifax, near the foot of Citadel Hill. This year the organizers were a bit late booking the field and lost the venue so scrambled to find a new one. They found a field and booked it. They used the Dartmouth Commons on the other side of the harbour and the venue was perfect! There is a large ball field behind Bicentennial school by Dartmouth High School and all the tents and events were set up there. The Commons below that was an ideal space for practicing and setting up "camp" for the various pipe bands and groups.
They have a row of marquees set up to feature various clans with geneology information, photos and people to talk to. Some of the booths are selling items of interest and there are also other booths selling Celtic jewelry, souvenirs and accessories that you might need if you are in a pipe and drum band or if you compete in the dance and folk competitions. Lots of plaid everywhere! There is usually a kiosk set up by a travel agent with information on Scotland and Ireland and this year there was also a representative of the Dartmouth Heritage Museum. Over one area that has a life as a baseball field in it's everyday life, you will see various pipe bands and drummers competing. There's a main stage for the opening ceremonies and which later is the scene for the dancing competitions. Girls in kilts or folk costumes fling and stomp and dance in various categories ranked by age and type of dancing.
The day starts off with a parade of the massed pipe and drum bands and let me tell you, when hundreds of bagpipes raise the call of the Highlands, your heart pounds! The pipes must have truly sounded fearsome back in the days when it was the call into battle! These days, the pipes and drums are played by people of all ages, male and female. There was a demonstration of the 78th Highander drill team in full dress uniform. These men work at the Halifax Citadel all summer long as guides and guards and putting on demonstrations for the tourist so they do learn the maneuvers for real, recreating life as a soldier in the garrison.
The popular event, however, is the heavy events area. This is where you will see tall, burly men with arms the size of tree trunks hefting and throwing boulders, rocks on sticks and chains, and flinging 20 foot poles nearly the size of a telephone pole end over end. That's the "glamour" event, the caber toss. It takes a lot of strength but also a huge amount of skill to overend it just right. The aim is to heave it high enough so that it lands on one end and falls over in a straight line from the person that threw it, a "12 o'clock" throw. If the caber doesn't flip over, the angle it falls is measured in degrees instead of clock time. This is usually the last event of the day. I can't imagine how they must have any energy left after all the heavy throwing all day!
This was the first year for the event at the Dartmouth venue but it was very successful and it appears they may return there in future. It cost 12 dollars for an adult entry to the grounds this year. There were lots of places you can lay a blanket or portable chair. They also have a few food kiosks and a beer garden area too where later in the afternoon, you will be able to hear some local entertainment. All in all a very enjoyable day and the weather this year couldn't have been more perfect for it!
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