“Get to yer marks, get set and go.”
A wee bit of the old world is once again coming to King’s Park this Saturday with the fifth annual Penticton Scottish Festival.
According to Scottish Festival Society president Wayne McDougall, the event is a one-day showcase combining the traditional highland games of music and athletic competition with a Celtic cultural expo, entertainment and fun for all ages.
That includes for the first time this year, five pipe bands, the strong man/woman heavy events, whisky tasting and fun for the kids with the haggis hurl and their own caber toss.
“I’m pretty excited about that, five pipe bands. That’s huge for us, we just had two last year,” said McDougall. “That’s really something, especially when we have the mass bands event. So at 12:30 p.m. for the opening ceremonies and at 4:30 for the awards, anyone who is a piper or drummer can bring their instrument to be part of the mass band.
“Can you imagine the sound of five pipe bands marching around?”
Related: A wee bit of a fun and games
Action gets underway at 8 a.m. with the drumming, solo bagpiping and dancing competition and at 9 a.m. the heavy events will begin with action as well as a number of different events running throughout the day.
In addition to the several hundred participants, McDougall is anticipating again this year there will be over 2,000 people coming to take in the festivities.
“This is something that is unique to our region and the Okanagan Valley because the next nearest one is in Kamloops,” he said. “What you will see is young people, most of our competitors are kids from six years old to some of the people who have been piping for decades.
“Not all are of Scottish heritage though. There are many people from all ethnicities, so it’s kind of fun, too, to come out and explore some different cultures.”
On the entertainment stage, there will be a Celtic Ceilidh (party in the park) with headliners Knacker’s Yard of Victoria and Gord McLaren and the McClan with entertainment going until 7:30 p.m.
Also in attendance will be the Society of Creative Anachronism (knights in armour) Blakey Irish Dance, Naramata Scottish Country Dancers and Central Okanagan Dog Agility Club.
Related: A taste of Scottish culture in Penticton
Food and beverage vendors will also be set up in the park and a Kids’ Zone will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with face painting, flag making crafts and a bouncy castle.
The popular heavy events are among the oldest contest sports in the world, consisting of a series of feats of strength, many derived from the Scottish weapons of war and others from everyday life.
They include the stone putt, hammer throw, sheaf toss and caber toss.
And according to McDougall, the one thing people can count on is their experience will be “pure barry.”
For more information about the festival or to volunteer go to http://www.pentictonscottishfestival.ca/ or contact McDougall at 250-460-0123.
That’s the same person to contact if you’d like to lend a hand for the popular event, with volunteers for the event still desperately needed. McDougall said about 50 people are needed to help out with a variety of duties for the fifth annual event.
“Indeed, we do need volunteers to do everything from work with the heavy events (no lifting required) to maintain the grounds to selling tickets at the gate primarily. But we also need people to set up on Friday and pack up Sunday,” said McDougall.
Organizers are asking for volunteers to work four-hour shifts for which they will receive a t-shirt, lunch on the day and an appreciation barbecue on Sunday.
“It’s fairly light in terms of peoples’ abilities and it doesn’t take any athletic ability to help out,” said McDougall.
