REGINA – The Saskatchewan Highland Gathering and Celtic Festival wrapped up Sunday. The two-day event held in Moose Jaw and Regina combined heavy event athletics, dancing and pipe band competitions.
“My grampa used to, my mom did, my brother used to, and I’ve been dancing for three years,” said seven-year-old Caelan Rossburke.
From Fort McMurray, he dances an hour and a half every day. He’s very competitive – even though he’s been in Saskatchewan for a few days, he hasn’t seen much of the province.
“We just came from Moose Jaw – we had a competition there, and we came to Regina. We just went swimming for a little while before that, and then we came here and we had the competition,” he said.
There are no big celebrations in the works for if he wins, which he expects to in some capacity.
“Coming here with my mom and my friends is enough to celebrate,” he said.
“It’s fun, it’s fitness, it’s exercise and it’s cultural,” said Leah Sutton-Knowles, the organizer of the dance portion of the games.
“We used to just have Saskatchewan dancers. Now we have Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and BC all represented,” she added.
Like Rossburke, for many participants, there is a large family component.
“I play in a band with my uncle and my daughter now who’s 10 just started with the kids’ band,” said piper Alex Rasmussen. “It’s not like a sports team where it’s only a specific age. Anyone can join a band and play and have some fun.”
His daughter, Fynley Calder Rasmussen, a drummer, added of her father, “He played in the pipe band and he thought I would like it, thought I was very musical.”
Meanwhile on the athletics side, Jason Johnston is a two-time Canadian champion and a competitor in these western Canadian championships. However, his goal is to be a good host.
“As a chair person I want to make sure everyone has fun, so my performance is secondary to making sure the general public has a really good time,” said Johnston.
He also noted how the event is growing.
“We are getting bigger and we’re attracting more people and we’re hoping to grow this into a two to three day weekend.”
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