Join us for the 2022 Highland Games!
July 8-10
2022
Recent Updates
Our Story: Presented by AHS & The Ships of 1801 society
Our Story explores the forces that created the immigrant Gael, and how these determined Highlanders established themselves in northeastern Nova Scotia. Language, the culture and the music that nurtured and sustained them as well as the religious, political and...
Happy Tartan Day from the Antigonish Highland Society
Fun Fact: Tartan Day originated in Nova Scotia, Canada, with a proposal from the Federation of Scottish Clans. As a result of a push by the Clans & Scottish Societies of Canada, the Ontario Legislature passed a resolution proclaiming April 6th as Tartan Day. To...
Hall of Famer: Jeannie Cameron
The late Dr. Jeannie Cameron was inducted for her almost 40 years as a stellar track-and-field athlete. Known for her "physical prowess" in any sport she tried, the Antigonish native was selected athlete of the Games in 1975, where she won five gold and two silver...
Hall of Famer: fr. Doug MacDonald
Father Doug MacDonald was a multi-time and defending Canadian champion. His first participation in the Games came as a dancer but he then realized his love of heavy events. Over a stellar 11-year career, he won several titles, including five world championships in the...
Hall of Famer: Wayne Thompson
While growing up in Cloverville, Antigonish County, he learned a lot from his father Terry - a long-time caber toss participant - and other family members who competed at the Games. Thompson was inducted for his 20 years, from 1966 to 1986 of "versatile participation"...
Hall of Famer: Lianne Bradshaw
Antigonish native Lianne Bradshaw, who started playing drums with the Clanranald Pipe Band in the early 1980s, joined the Grade 2 Scotia Legion Pipe Band - a huge jump from the Grade 4 Antigonish band 0 within three years. As a drum corps member and their instructor,...
Membership
Hall of Fame
Cultural Events
Community Programs
Youth Programs
The Antigonish Highland Society was founded in 1861, about 75 years after the Gaels first began arriving on nearby shores. At its first meeting, the new Society elected Dr. Alexander MacDonald as its president and approved the Society’s objectives of perpetuating the language, music and traditions of the Highland Scot and assisting their fellow Gaels in times of need. The Society celebrated St. Andrew’s Day that year and two years later held its first Highland Games on Apple Tree Island in the east end of town. Since then, the Society has sponsored more than 150 Highland Games while supporting the Gaelic language, piping and drumming, Highland dancing, fiddle music and step-dancing, athletics and the Ancient Scottish Heavy Events. It has kept alive or created numerous traditions and events that help to define the character of Antigonish town and county.
Bike Race
Scottish Heavy Events
Farmer’s Walk
Highland Dance
July 2-10
2022
Elite Mile
5 Mile Road Race
Piping & Drumming
Dive Into Adventure!
The Antigonish Highland Society is proud to bring you a world of events that bring the rich history of the longest running Highland Games in North America.