CARSTAIRS -- Area residents are in for a treat next month when the first-ever Carstairs Heritage Festival takes place.
The festival, which goes Saturday June 8, features several pipe bands, Scottish caber toss demonstrations, tug of war competition, local food and a parade.
Marty Ratz, town councillor and committee member, said preparations for the festival are progressing nicely.
"Preparations are moving along very well," said Ratz. "There are some things that need to be finalized. The festival will take place mainly in and around Memorial Park and the curling rink.
"We have a large group of volunteers and we've been working in cooperation with many of the businesses in Carstairs to put on a food fair, which will be inside the curling rink."
Ratz said he's not surprised to see so many people in the community step up to help out with the preparations for the event.
"I'm floored and I shouldn't be floored because it's Carstairs," he said. "We have a very good community here. When you reach out and bring out an idea that resonates with people they get on board.
"Everyone is stepping up to help make this festival a success. We're very much looking forward to this."
The Carstairs Heritage Festival is being organized by the festival committee, which spun out of the Carstairs Community Development and Economic Partnership Committee (CCDEPC), said Ratz.
"As part of the parent committee (CCDEPC), one of our roles is to look at opportunities in the community to develop the community and look at economic partnerships and so on," he said. "We were talking about different festivals and the idea came up about putting a festival on to connect with Carstairs, Scotland."
Ratz said that Carstairs, Alberta and its namesake in Scotland have had a connection for years and the heritage festival will bring that to the forefront.
As for what's happening where, Ratz said that the Highland dancers will be performing at the curling rink, where there will also be face painting.
"The pipers will be performing just south of the concession booth, which is just south of the curling rink," he said. "There will be a petting zoo and some kids' games in the park. As well, there will be a Highland games heavy athletics in ball diamond No. 3 on the west side of the park."
Ratz said the food for the food court will be provided by some local restaurants.
"Some are looking at putting together some Scottish cuisine to sell there as well," he said.
Another highlight will be the tug of war, which will take place in diamond No. 3.
Of course, you can't talk about Scotland without talking about scotch. To that end, there will be a scotch pairing event at the legion in Carstairs.
"The event unofficially kicks off on the Friday (June 7) at the legion," he said. "They're going to have a scotch pairing. They're going to be showing about four premium scotches and pairing them with foods that complement them."
Ratz said tickets need to be purchased in advance at the legion for the Scotch pairing, which is for adults only.
The heritage festival will include a parade through the streets of Carstairs starting at the curling rink on Saturday starting at 11 a.m., said Ratz.
The heritage festival organizers have managed to attract several top pipe bands. Performing in both the parade and on stage in the park will be the RCMP pipe and drum band, Calgary Police pipe band, as well as pipe bands from Airdrie, Ogden and Innisfail.
"We'll end with a mass fling where all the bands will be out on the field together," he said. "They'll pick a song that they all know and play together."
There is no charge for the main events on Saturday. People need to bring their own lawn chairs though, said Ratz.
"We're going to see what happens this year," he said. "We'd like to make it an annual event. We just want to get through the first one and get some feedback and look to next year and see how things go."
