The BC Highland Games
is Saturday June 25th, Jim Bain is one of the organizers and he
showed me around back in 2003. It was a great little festival –
very friendly. Not as splashy (no pun intended) as the Alcan
Dragon Boat Festival – just very community oriented.
There is highland dancing, drum and bagpipe competition, The athletic
events will be: light stone, light hammer, 28lbs. and 56lbs. weight for
distance, weight for height, caber toss; for everyone and the A's will
also do: Braemar stone, heavy hammer and a sheaf toss.
Maybe I could try the athletic events as a walk-in. This might
start to satisfy my “all things Scottish” obssession. As I walked
around through the festival site, I wondered if my amazement at all the
“ethnic” events and booths was similar to non-Chinese walking through
Chinatown on Chinese New Year Parade day or during the Night Market.
Speaking of markets… maybe this year is the year, I have a booth to
promote Gung Haggis Fat Choy events at the BC Highland Games. I
have GHFC t-shirts, event posters to give out. I could sell cd's
by my musician friends Joe McDonald and/or Silk Road Music. Wow! maybe I could have my booth next to Bear Kilts, and pass out haggis won-tons!
Jim and I inquired about the dancers and bagpipers, looking for any
participants with any Chinese and Scottish blended heritage, as Moyra
Rodgers was then preparing for the CBC Television special “Gung
Haggis Fat Choy.” Surprisingly, it was not an uncommon request,
Jim's own daughters are half Chinese and Scottish. But alas Jim's
daughters have now long since graduated university and moved to
Toronto. Apparently there is a young bagpiper who is half
Malyasian Chinese, and there are some dancers who are “hapa” – but
somehow I missed them that day.