As Bowfest is celebrating 40 years of being awesome, I’ve been reminiscing about my earliest memories which include the terrifying spectacle of adults in a hands-free pie-eating contest, the mysterious men’s best legs contest, the occasionally controversial lip sync contests, and watching my mother in the women’s arm-wrestling contest progressing to the finals after her summers of scooping the hard ice cream in a little deli inside the General Store.
Other nostalgic memories include the wood-chopping and nail-driving competitions, the Country Fair contests, the slug races, RCMP musical ride, the local musicians, Scottish dancers performing on stage and of course the Bowfest parades which often included and embraced various dance groups and marching bands in kilts, often playing bagpipes.
It’s not a big secret that I have a love of kilts, bagpipes, and Scottish dancing, which is one reason why this year I’m contributing a Scottish element to Bowfest: a demonstration by the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society.
“You’re all going to have to catch a ferry and come to Bowen if someone doesn’t outbid me!” I warned at a silent auction fundraiser… but when the bidding closed no one had gotten to the bid-sheet in time, so the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (RSCDS) are dressing up and coming to Bowfest this year to demonstrate traditional Scottish Country dance that anyone and all ages can participate in. They will be on stage at approximately 11:30am on the main festival field.
The RSCDS holds dance classes from basic through advanced from September to April at the Scottish Cultural Centre (8886 Hudson Street, Vancouver) for all ages. Its volunteers help keep this social, fun Scottish dance tradition alive and I hope everyone on the island gives them a warm welcome to Bowen.
Please cheer and clap with extra enthusiasm for the Royal Scottish Country Dancers and join in the fun if they teach a dance in front of the stage. Bring out a bit of plaid if you like because Bowfest, since its creation, has always welcomed a wee bit of a Scottish element to it and that's one way in which Bowfest has been celebrating this community being awesome since 1975!
