Farmers' Olympics among Museum Day features

By Ian MacKay

People wearing kilts will compete in events of strength during Museum Day here on June 7.

Highland games, with competitors mostly from Saskatoon, run from noon to 4 p.m. as part of the annual event at the Rosetown and District Museum.

"If anybody wants to do it, they'll show you how," Gord Letourneau said about the Highland competitions during the museum association's meeting on Thursday evening.

Games for children, a market featuring local and area vendors, and displays of photos and quilts will also be among the day's features on the museum grounds near the southeast edge of town.

Activity begins with a pancake breakfast from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. and lunch will be available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The teahouse will be open, starting at noon, and drinks and snacks will be available beside the main museum building most of the day.

Late last week, organizers were still looking for one more team of two for the Farmers' Olympics that run from 11 a.m. to noon. A blacksmith may be working in the shop in the northeast corner of the grounds but is recovering from an illness, members learned during the meeting.

A fishpond and face-painters will help keep children amused before and after lunch.

Vendors expected will offer honey, books, baking and sewing, and association president Kerri Redekop was hoping for more.

Highland games participants are "mostly men," said Arlene Nichols, who's been joined by two other women in recent events. As many as 20 people from Saskatoon and area attend competitions that happen throughout the summer, Nichols indicated.

Their major competition occurs as part of the Saskatoon Celtic Festival on Sept. 19. It draws people from around the province plus Manitoba and a few from Alberta, Nichols said.