No Highland Games in Halifax this summer

By Kim Moar - The Weekly News
Citing "financial challenges," the Halifax Highland Games and Scottish Festival has been cancelled for this year.
Games spokesman and chairman John Cody blames the demise of the popular summer event on volunteer and sponsorship fatigue.
"It hurts. This was a big part of a lot of people's lives," Cody said.
Fearing there would not be enough money to pay expenses for the Games, the unpaid, volunteer board members refused to sign the paperwork approving it.
"Under the rules ... the people who sign that document, and you as the chairman, are the ones creditors will come after if the Games do not make a profit," Cody said.
Cody said he believes there are a number of small locally-run events facing similar financial challenges.
In the case of the Highland Games, Cody said, sponsorship funding was not forthcoming, and the board was unable to find new sponsorship.
"Our major sponsor indicated that they were not too interested in contributing, and reduced their contribution a little bit more this year, and there was no guarantee that they were going to have an ability to go forth with an amount of money for us," Cody said.
That sponsor, the North British Society of Halifax, a Scottish cultural society founded in 1768 and serving HRM, is facing it's own challenge, Cody said.
"Like all organizations, they are diminishing in their membership... and are not able to do all the things they've done in the past," he said.
No one from the society responded to an interview request.
Former co-chairwoman and Highland Games board member Kelly MacKellar said the Halifax Highland Games and Scottish Festival costs about $45,000 to host and they barely covered expenses last year, and that was with a $5,000 grant from the province.
"We would not have received any money from the province this year as they only give it out two out of three years, and it was just going to be too tight," MacKellar said. "The last couple of years we basically just broke even."
While most of the revenue for the Games comes through ticket sales, organizers also count on private and public donations to make ends meet, but it's getting more expensive every year to put the event on.
Not only do Highland Games organizers have to pay for numerous judges and a performance fee to heavyweight athletes, other things like fencing, barricades, staging, sound systems, electric, medals, trophies, tents, chairs and tables etc. really add up, she said.
While HRM does contribute $3,000, organizers pretty much hand it back to the city in various fees and rental of the Dartmouth Common.
MacKellar said buying liability insurance for the one-day event alone has skyrocketed to $2,500.
"That's a big thing that's gone up considerably in the last two or three years," she said. "It's just one thing after another."
MacKellar said the Games tried to find new corporate sponsors last year, but many companies were feeling the pinch and could not come on board.
"Hopefully we'll be able to find some sponsorship for next year," she said.
One big problem for events in Halifax, MacKellar said, is the competition for sponsorship money.
Unlike smaller municipalities that may have only host one or two major events a year, Halifax hosts many big attractions throughout a year, and each one looks for sponsorship money.
"It's a constant battle," she said.
In May 2008, after 35 years in Halifax, the Games moved across the harbour to the Dartmouth Common.
While rental of the Dartmouth Common was less than the Garrison Grounds of Citadel Hill, the event did take a hit in attendance revenue.
"For the first year or so, people might have assumed we were in Halifax, but the people in Dartmouth were awesome," she said.
While organizers hope the Highland Games will get back on its feet to host the festival next year, there's no guarantees.
"I am very concerned about preserving our heritage and our culture," Cody said. Nova Scotia is latin for New Scotland.
"How come the Greek Festival is so strong, and Scottish, who are on every tourist poster in town can't seem to pull it off these days, I don't know the answer to that."
kmoar@hfxnews.ca