The Glengarry Highland Games are Ready to Roll

After a long year of waiting, the 2025 Glengarry Highland Games are only days away and the Games site is groomed, green and ready to receive the thousands of visitors and competitors who will fill the grounds on August 1 & 2. Across Glengarry and way beyond, kilts are being dusted, dancing shoes polished, and schedules adjusted to be there for the best celtic festival anywhere and it’s here in our own backyard in Maxville, Ontario.

Fifty-three pipe bands, two hundred and eighty highland dancers, scores of heavyweights and Scottish fiddlers are ready to provide a magnificent display of Scottish competition and tradition. The clans will fill the grounds to welcome this year’s Guest of Honour Patrick MacDonell, Clan Chief of Glengarry, and Emma Barr, World Champion Drum Major along with favourite local entertainers like Hadrian’s Wall, Bang on the Ear, Fridge Full of Empties and The County Lads. The Friday Tattoo will light up the night with the Derina Harvey Band along with massed pipe bands and the massed highland fling and a brilliant fireworks display.

For two jam-packed days, visitors will be entertained with even more events like the Scottish fiddlers who play in the air-conditioned Area Dining Hall with forty youth fiddlers showcasing their talents on Friday afternoon. Special guest fiddler and workshop instructor Karen Steven, a Scottish fiddle player, teacher, composer and recording artist, originally from Caithness in the far north of Scotland, now living in Petawawa will entertain with her band on Friday and conduct a workshop on Saturday morning. Don’t miss the Glengarry Massed Fiddlers on Friday before the Tattoo and Saturday’s Scottish Fiddle Concert at 1:30 pm with the finest fiddlers from Glengarry. 

On Friday, vintage car lovers will enjoy the British Car Show located all day on the east mound and inside the tent. Crowd favourites, the 78th Fraser Highlanders 18th Century Musket Review, return at 12:45 and 3:45pm to thrill the crowds with the re-enactment of their ‘Brown Bess’ musket drill. The loud bangs, billowing smoke, and pipes & drums give a small glimpse of what battle scenes looked like 200 years ago.

Out on the infield on Saturday, the Canadian Armed Forces Primary Reserve Tug of War will entertain everyone with eight Canadian Armed Forces Primary Reserve units from across Canada competing for the Challenge cup in the popular of tug-o-war struggle.

Also on Saturday, the annual Nate MacRae (The Scotsman) Memorial Rugby Tournament will be held on the field behind the Clan Buildings starting at 8:30 am. The championship games will be held between 2:30 PM and 4:00 PM in front of the grandstands. The format is a box sevens (7 players, vs 7 players for 7minute halves) and is open to women, men, and youth.

Runners will want to be part of the Up the Glens 5K kilt run starting at 9:00 am from the large tent. Registration is still open for those 18+. Kilts must be worn but no dogs or strollers please.

Of course, there will be Whisky Tasting sessions with Barry MacDonald, a well-known Glengarry County single malt connoisseur. The 2 pm tasting is sold out but there is still room at the 4 pm session. Slainte!

As Saturday builds up to the magnificent massed bands closing, don’t miss the Parade of Champions at 4pm where the winners of the two days of Highland Dancing competitions present their trophies to the crowd gathered around the infield.

For those of the younger set, there is lots to do at the Games. The Junior Heavyweights on Saturday are full, but there is still room to register for the Track and Field events for those 3-14 years. Please register on the Games website by the end of Friday, August 1.

Over in the Wee Bairns area behind the Metcalfe Centre, there is fun for the whole family in a shaded tented area with rest rooms and wash station. The area is open 10am to 4 pm each day. Just some of the things you’ll find there include face painting, a petting farm, pony rides, make-it-yourself puppets, large board games and badminton, ring toss, plinko and much more. Parents, guardians, or caregivers are required to accompany their children at all times. Make unforgettable memories with your Wee Bairns at the Glengarry Highland Games, whether you visit for a few minutes or an entire day.

For the shoppers in the crowd, the Games host a variety of vendors including Scottish food, Celtic jewelry, giftware, ironworks, clothing and history. The Games Souvenir program now available on our website has a list of vendors who will be at the Games and ready to sell their extensive range of goods.

The Games welcome everyone of all ages and abilities. For those who can’t navigate the site easily, the Games provide special seating areas, washroom facilities and parking areas. See our website under the Attending tab to find out more information and plan your visit.

For those looking for transportation to the Games, See-Way More Shuttle service is offering several departure times to and from the Games from Cornwall. For more information, contact them at http://seewaymore.ca/tours-and-shuttles/.

Make sure to watch Ottawa’s CTV2 Morning Live on Friday for interviews with several of the Games’ competitors and entertainers including Emma Barr, Champion Drum Major. On Friday, Cornwall Corus radio stations will broadcast live from the Games. 

Everyone wants to have a great time at the Games and travel to and from safely. The OPP reminds everyone that they will be extra vigilant on the roads during the Games and will also be checking on safe vehicles travelling to the Games. Make sure you have a designated driver or consider camping over. Star Taxi from Alexandria will be available in the evenings to get people home safely. 

It is the season of construction and with the already busy Games roadways, try to avoid the Dyer Road from Highway 138 to Maxville as it is under major construction.

After a year of waiting and 10 months of planning, the 76th edition of the Glengarry Highland Games is ready to show everyone just what the buzz is all about. It only comes once a year for two days but a year full of excitement is built into those two days.

See you at the Games! There’s Nothing Quite Like It!