July 2006: COMMUNITY

Over 8,000 Visitors Expected for the Canmore Highland Games By CATHOLINE BUTLER PICTURED Don Garen When Don Garen retired to Canmore, Alberta in 1979, he looked around at the spectacular setting in Centennial Park, in the shadow of the Canadian Rockies, and he said, "my God what a magnificent spot for Highland games!" This was the spark which led to the Canmore Highland Games, which will be held this year on September 3 over the Labour Day weekend. On my recent visit to Alberta, I met with Don and he spoke to me about the Games and how they were established in his area. He said, "my daughter Sally is a drum major and a Highland dancer and we had often attended Highland games in Ontario." Garen had worked for Chrysler Canada in Ontario prior to transferring to Red Deer, Alberta. When he retired to Canmore, he said, "it took me a few years before I could spark things to get people interested. "I founded the Legion Pipe Band, which was a great forerunner and that's really how we got going. From there we were able to pick-up a couple of Scots who did the sports. Sally did the dancing and booked the entertainment and we just went from there."

PICTURED Sally Garen.

This year will be the 16th annual Canmore Highland Games and Don said it hasn't always been smooth sailing. "In the second year of the Games," he said, "we had snow and it was tough sledding, but we persevered, and it just continued to build and build.

"Our attendance is now up around 8,500 and we have a heated tent for the Ceilidh in the evening, along with tents for the food and beer gardens.

The evening Ceilidh is a big attraction and tickets can only be purchased on the grounds. "This is in fairness to those who have attended the Games all day long," said Don, "so they get first crack at the coveted tickets which are usually sold out by early afternoon."

This year, the featured entertainment for the evening Ceilidh will be Wolfstone from Scotland. Kelly Trothier, a fiddler, vocalist and step-dancer from Maxville, Ontario, will entertain in the beer garden in the afternoon.

The Canmore Games include heavy sports and Highland dancing, and last year there were 450 entries for the dancing. Entries come from Manitoba, British Columbia, and the United States.

ONE TINY PIPER at the Canmore Highland Games.

THE CANMORE HIGHLAND GAMES are held in a magnificent setting, nestled in the foothills in Alberta. The Lowland Bands of the Scottish Division (UK) are shown above participating at the 2005 Games.

Speaking about the piping, Don said, "the first year of the Games we had seven pipe bands, now we average about 22 to 24 bands from all over. We've also had the Salt Lake City band and a few from Montana."

The town of Canmore, located about an hour west of Calgary, is named in honour of Malcolm of Canmore, the King of Scotland from 1057 to 1093. With a population of 12,000, the town welcomes an additional 8,000 people on the day of the Canmore Highland games.

Don said, "There's plenty of room for everyone because many are just here for the day. Some are camping, while others stay at local hotels or in Banff which is just 20 minutes away."

For more information about the Canmore Highland Games, check-out their website at: www.canmorehighlandgames.ca.