From today's T&T:
http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=11286
Seventh annual Highland Games was biggest ever
Monday, June 24, 2013
Times & Transcript
By: Tess Allen
Organizers say attendance increased by 50 per cent
The ears of Metro Monctonians are sure to be ringing with the sound of bagpipes for days to come in the wake of this weekend's seventh annual Moncton Highland Games - and co-chair Stephen Tweedie couldn't be happier about it.
'The Moncton High School field is a new location for the Highland Games and it may be one of the best things that's happened to us,' said Tweedie on Saturday, where hundreds plodded through the site to the tune of live music from 8:30 a.m. onward.
'We started out at Victoria Park six years ago, and then we moved onto the Bernice MacNaughton High School field, but since it's being tur ned over to artificial turf for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, we got moved down here,' said Tweedie.
'This field here appears to be bigger and it's certainly more visible to the public. We're thinking this more high-profile location is going to give us a better opportunity to attract crowds; I think today is witness to that statement.' Tweedie said that while typical attendance to the Games in years' past has floated around the 1,000 mark, he estimates that organizers increased that number by about 50 per cent this past weekend.
'For us, this is the biggest Highland Games ever. It's a great way to showcase our Scottish heritage and culture and we only hope to keep making it better.' A number of activities were available for visitors to this weekend's event, including performances by 13 pipe bands from across the region (a record number for Atlantic Canada in recent years), highland dance competitions, piping and drumming contests and the ever-popular sheep-to-shawl demonstrations.
Denyse Milliken of Dorchester spearheaded the sheep-to-shawl event this weekend.
'We're spinning wool that was sheared right next door to us. It comes in its raw from, so first we have to card it and then we spin it before we demonstrate the weaving and knitting,' said Milliken, adding that 'wool is very important as it makes up the kilt.
'It's a skill that needs to be shown as part of Scottish history. So often people see a spinning wheel or a loom in a museum and no one is actually demonstrating how to use them, so we're hoping to add value to that experience by showing how these tools are used.' This year's popular event certainly attracted visitors from Metro Moncton and beyond.
Among the attendees was shot put champion Dylan Armstrong, who participated in the event's special demonstration of Braemar stone throwing.
'We had a little bit of cross-pollination (with the Canadian Track and Field Championships). When we found out that shot put was part of the track event, we figured why not get together since our Braemar stone throwing is the predecessor to shot put,' said Tweedie.
While Armstrong technically came to Moncton to compete in this weekend's Canadian Track and Field Championships (he came in second at Friday night's national shot put championships on the riverfront), he ended up leaving with a couple other titles he wasn't necessarily anticipating.
'I'm pretty happy (to have broken the Canadian record in Braemar stone throwing),' said Armstrong, who astounded spectators with a throw over 46 feet, in turn demolishing the Canadian record of 43 feet and coming close to beating the world record.
'Braemar stone throwing is definitely a lot dif ferent from shot put. It's difficult because you're on grass and I'm a little bit hesitant because I don't want to get hurt, but it's a lot of fun.' When spectators weren't catching one of the weekend's 'heavy athletics' events, they could do some shopping at one of the site's various vendors.
Mac MacIsaac of MacIsaac Kiltmakers felt compelled to set up shop at this weekend's Highland Games.
'We've been making kilts for almost 30 years. We don't typically go to a lot of one-day events but Moncton is doing a good job of promoting the (Scottish) culture and heritage, so we felt pretty strongly about doing all we can to help support this,' said MacIsaac, whose family business has only missed one Moncton Highland Games in its seven-year run.
'It (the Highland Games) gives us an opportunity to build loyalty, to be in front of people and have them become comfortable with who we are (and what we do). It makes us more than just a name of the Internet.' Saturday's festivities were capped off with a raucous performance by Celtic super-group the Rogues.
Personal note - I think it's rather funny (and neat) that Olympic bronze medallist shot putter Dylan Armstrong tried his hand at Braemar stone throwing because both events were concurrent in Moncton, and very nearly broke the world record in the event! 
There is clearly a synergy between the two events. The fact the Highland Games were on Saturday likely did have an impact on attendance at the Canadian Track & Field Championships that day. I wonder if the two events will overlap next year too?
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