Advertisement 1

Embro goes Scottish with 80th annual Highland Games

Article content

It's going to be a celebration of both Scottish and Canadian culture in Embro on July 1.

The 80th annual embro Highland Games will take place at the Embro Zorra Community Centre at the start of next month, showcasing a number of exciting events for those interested in athletics and culture.

There will be two-five-and 10-kilometre races that will be free to enter for every competitor wearing a kilt while the first 100 runners to pre-register online at www.embrohighlandgames.ca will receive a free T-shirt.

There will also be the very popular caber toss as part of the Ontario Heavy Events Championships, featuring professional male and female athletes from across the province competing for top honours.

Those interested in Scottish culture will also have the chance to watch over 100 Highland dancers compete for medals when the massed highland fling will take place. Massed pipe bands will also take to the field, with at least 10 set to play, including one from Flint, Mich..

The Embto Highland Games will also be celebrating Canada's 150th with an actor who will be greeting guests as Sir John A. MacDonald. The Toronto Taiwanese Community Choir will also be performing several choral numbers and a theatre skit about George Leslie Mackay, the Zorra-born missionary, learning Taiwanese.

In the afternoon, there will also be Celtic and Canadian music, with Allison Lupton, Ian Bell and Dan MacDonald set to perform live.

There will also be plenty of things for kids to do, including re-enacting the caber toss and traditional Scottish crafts.

Highland Games president Helen Dowd said the games are a sensory experience.

"There are bagpipes and Celtic music, that's what you'll get to hear.

There are all kinds of vendors, so there are lots of things to see and taste," Dowd said. "Of course, it's on a big property of four acres, so it's going to be jam packed with all kinds of things. So the idea is that people get up and move around to different bleachers to watch different things."

Parking for the event is free and admission is $15 for adults, $10 for youth (13 to 18 years old) and children under 12 get in free, with gates opening at 8 a.m.

bchessell@postmedia.com

Article content
Advertisement 2
Advertisement
Article content
Article content
Latest National Stories
    News Near Tillsonburg
      This Week in Flyers