Join us to celebrate St. Andrew’s Day, Scotland’s national day, and Scottish Heritage Day at a Flag Raising Ceremony at Ottawa City Hall on November 30. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 We invite you join us as we raise the flag of Scotland, the St. Andrew’s Cross, on November 30th.  Following a short ceremony at the flag poles in front of City Hall, we will retreat to Deacon Brodies Pub to raise a toast in honour of St. Andrew’s Day and Scottish Heritage Day. 

The Mayor of Ottawa, Jim Watson, will do us the honour of raising the Saltire over Ottawa City Hall.

We hope to see you there!

Scottish Heritage Day will be celebrated for the first time in Ontario on November 30, 2021. 

In the fall of 2020, the Scottish Society of Ottawa gave written support to the successful Private Members Bill that was proposed by MPP Jim McDonell from Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry, with the resulting Bill 208.

Bill 208 was enacted as Chapter 19 of the Statutes of Ontario in the spring of this year, 2021.  The Bill proclaims November 30 in each year as Scottish Heritage Day. 

The preamble of the Bill states:

Beginning in the 1700s, the Scottish Highland Clearances displaced many of its citizens, forcing them out of their homes with no means to support their families. Many looked to Canada to start a new life, settling in various locations across Upper Canada, joining their fellow countrymen who had fought for the Crown during the American War of Independence. 

Once they established their homes and livelihood, they immediately set about building schools to educate their children and helped to establish the institutions necessary to build a strong and secure country. Pride in their culture gave Scots a strong sense of identity and self-worth, which contributed to their success and left Upper Canada with firmly rooted Scottish traditions such as Highland games and competitions.

St. Andrew’s Day is celebrated on November 30th and is Scotland’s official national day.

Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows: Scottish Heritage Day

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Celebrate St. Andrew’s Day with us and and learn about how Scotland is welcoming back visitors, offering unique and exciting experiences for both new and returning travellers, Scotland is a country of heart, with the warmest of people. Scotland is castles, lochs and mountains, but it’s also brimming with creativity, innovation, courage and pride. It is doing good things, being sustainable, 💚 and playing its part.

This first presentation of our four-part virtual speaker series will feature Ms. Janie Neumann from Visit Scotland, who will reconnect you with Scotland. This will be an engaging session on the joy of travel, and a reimagining of the Scottish tourism experience. Scotland is waiting, and open to you!

The ScotCan Speaker Series is a free, virtual, four-part speaker series jointly offered by the Scottish Society of Ottawa and the Scottish Government. Sessions will be offered seasonally through 2021-22.

Tune in for free at 12:00 p.m. EST, November 30th, 2021.

Register here >

What began as an idea by the Scottish Society of Ottawa (SSO) to have the 2021 kilt skate take place as a safe, socially-distanced “Home Edition” series of mini-events has morphed into a pan-Canadian party that will take place this Saturday across six time zones. February 27 will see an as-yet undetermined number of skaters across Canada join together in the first-ever Great Canadian Kilt Skate Zoom & Facebook Party.

The idea of bringing everyone together at the same time came initially from the Toronto-based Clans and Scottish Societies of Canada (CASSOC). They had set up a Zoom meeting for participants and a Facebook live feed, scheduled for 11 a.m. to noon on Saturday, February 27. When SSO inquired whether others could join in, the attitude was “the more the merrier.”

To participate, there are three things you can do:

1. Register for the Zoom Party;

2. Join the Facebook Party;

3. Tartan up, strap on the skates — and send us pictures and video.

How To Send Photos and Videos
Email directly to one or more of the following email addresses::

• kiltskate@ottscot.ca

• kiltskate@cassoc.ca

Upload to:

• http://www.mapleleafmacgregor.ca/index.php/resources/media-file-upload

Hashtag on social media:

• #ottscot.ca

• #ScotlandIsNow

• #kiltskate2021

Identify your city to help it be chosen as the 2021 Kilt Skate Capital of Canada:

• #kiltskate2021MTL

• #kiltskate20221GLEN

• #kiltskate2021OTT

• #kiltskate20212GTA

• #kiltskate2021WPG

• #kiltskate2021YXE

• #kiltskate2021LETH

• #kiltskate2021CGY

Create your own city hashtag

• #kiltskate2021YOURCITY

The Zoom and Facebook Party will take place in the same moment across six time zones: beginning at

• 12:30 pm in Newfoundland,

• noon Atlantic Standard Time,

• 11 a.m. Eastern,

• 10 a.m. Central,

• 9 a.m. Mountain,

• 8 a.m. Pacific

(We’ll work out a different timetable in future years. In the meantime, just think of this as a party in Toronto that, a week beforehand and after the arrangements had been made, was opened to everyone.)

Join on November 4th at 7pm for the Bytown Museum’s first ever virtual talk, with retired HCol. Dan Mackay who will be speaking to the history, battle honours, and personal stories of the regiment as well as their place in Ottawa and the Canadian Army today. Click below for details.

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We hope you and your families are safe and well.

It is with great pleasure that we invite you to enjoy a celebration of musical talent as the Scottish Affairs Office Canada, in partnership with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland presents an exceptional guitar concert by Canadian Tim Beattie.                                                                                              

This #ScotlandHouseSession will incorporate music from Scottish and Canadian composers, showcasing the excellent cultural connections between Scotland and Canada.

Tim, an award-winning classical guitarist, is currently studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. His awards include winning the top prizes at the Hamilton International Guitar Competition and the Brussels International Guitar Competition, among many others.

SAVE THE DATE

Join us online for Tim Beattie’s performance on 1st July @ 1 pm EST.

We will email the direct YouTube link before the event. Can’t wait for the link? You can follow us on Twitter @scotgovcanada for the latest updates!

Until we can meet with you once more in person,

Stay safe and warm wishes,

Scottish Affairs Canada, Ottawa Office (Scottish Government)

A Celebration of Highland Games and Festivals

Sunday, June 28th
1:00 to 2:30 p.m.

Delegates, Members and Friends of CASSOC (Clans and Scottish Societies of Canada),

Please join us for this special CASSOC online presentation.

You'll enjoy unique combinations of previous events and live content as well as be able to engage with other participants through the CASSOC Zoom presence. Come hear from games and festival participants Callum Gauthier, Liam McGoshons, The American Rogues, Steel City Rovers and others.

To be part of this interactive live event please register in advance* using:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYtd-qpqzwrGde7UqucQQMkbRmsBDnsd4Kx 

A live stream for selected non-interactive content will be available on the CASSOC Facebook page.

For more information and support, please contact us using events@cassoc.ca.

Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday.

Yours Aye,

William Petrie - Clan Gregor
Chair and Newsletter Editor, CASSOC
Clans and Scottish Societies of Canada
www.cassoc.ca
647-972-7110
* As a security measure, advance registration is required for admittance to the Zoom event

Tickets at: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/thesonsofscotlandpipeband

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