Belfast Highland Games like 'step back in time' for Islanders
Many Islanders get to celebrate their cultures and traditions on the long weekend
Ray MacNeill dawned his traditional Scottish regalia for a step back in time Saturday.
He and his family were one of many in attendance at the Belfast Celtic Festival and Highland Games.
"I'm kind of overdressed today, but I do wear the old regalia when I do go out to the games," he said.
"It just goes [a] step back in time … for us anyway. But it's all about ceremony and tradition."
MacNeill said he thinks it's important that members of his family attend to better connect to their roots.
He said his family first arrived on the Island in 1808. His family tries to attend as many Highland Games as they can.
The Belfast Pipe and Drum Band's traditional music filled the air during the first day of three at the event that highlights Scottish culture.
Band member Sarrah Wood said she always wanted to play the bagpipes.
"Not many kids had that same dream or aspiration that I did," said Wood, who joined the band in 2013. She has since performed across the Island, and even abroad.
"Piping has been great, it's gotten me to travel all around the Maritimes, to Ontario and Scotland, and it's such a neat thing," she said.
The Belfast event has been around for 158 years. COVID interrupted it for two years.
"It's really nice to have the Belfast Highland Games back," Wood said. "It's a nice little piece of culture in Eastern P.E.I. and something that our band has kind of been missing as well."
Community significance
Michele McKenna, president of the Belfast Historical Society, said the event is about bringing the community together, but there is an educational component, too.
There are a number of workshops available. One on Sunday will discuss the Belfast Riot of 1847.
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With files from Delaney Kelly