subject: New Brunswick Jonah Place B&b Atlantic Canada Cottage [print this page] New Brunswick Hotels and Motels-Highland Games Festival
Each and every July Fredericton, Canada hosts the Highland Games Festival. Now if you've ever been curious about what goes on at the Scottish Games but didn't have the money to go all the way to Scotland, then Fredericton should be your next stop. Be sure and pack your kilts and pleated tartan skirts, which can win you prize money for dressing the part. Or, take part in the caber toss, rolling pin toss, sheaf toss and Braemar stone toss. These tossing competitions are not for the weak with items weighing upwards of 60 pounds.
If you're light on your feet and got good rhythm then sign yourself up for the Highland Dancing competition. Bagpipes, both competitively or otherwise are heard from dawn til dusk all over the festival area in Fredericton. Bagpipe competitions are both solo and group events, some featuring drums and other instruments.
Workshops are a big part of the Games, featuring Gaelic lessons, whiskey tasting and the right way to do it, and Kirkin O' Tartan or a chance for Scots to lay down a piece of their own tartan to symbolize when wearing of the plaid was against the law. And maybe you're not a competitor however, you do want to learn to bagpipe or dance or how to throw a caber. There are workshops available to teach you.
Ceilidhs, which are a gathering of music and songs and Scottish storytelling abound throughout the New Brunswick Highland Games. Celtic groups set up tents and go from sun up to sundown, in almost nonstop entertainment. The event opens with a parade through the center of Fredericton. Parades also occur daily for the duration of the Festival Games. New Brunswick Hotels and motels include the Delta Fredericton which is the closest hotel to the all the activities. But make your reservations quickly because the rooms sell out very fast.
