Harry’s 2016 Raspberry Awards

The Change-With-the-Times Award

Harry was saddened to hear this fall that the Canmore Highland Games in Alberta has closed the gates for the last time. Our Henrietta had one or two favourite games, and this was one of them. Not caring much for the sounds of piobaireachd on razor-thin F’s and High G’s at 8:30 a.m., Henrietta often made an appearance at the Games like HM Queen Elizabeth II at Braemar – showing up warm and fully breakfasted, the lingering smell of bacon and roasted tatties wafting off the coat, and taking in the warming heat of the afternoon sun. Once there, she’d enjoy the glorious display of kilts and tartan on a background of mountain scenery, and wander among the trinket booths, try on a Jimmy Hat or a Tam-o-shanter, and maybe stop by the Highland dancing to watch the mothers and daughters scrapping over costume changes.

Harry makes this award, because he thinks that all Highland events should pay attention to this story, and the lessons it holds for us. Here was an admittedly smashing event in perhaps the most scenic games location in the world, and it died a slow, painful, but actually preventable death. Harry’s view is that the committee (and all committees like it) need to think more broadly about their goals, and about how they have to keep changing things not to achieve the same results, and no keep doing things the same way to achieve the same results. Over time, the Canmore Games became a stale version of its former self. It went from drawing 20 bands to a low of about six at one point, with many Alberta bands no longer supporting the event, preferring to travel to California over playing locally.

In awarding this Raspberry to the Canmore Games, Harry cautions other event managers to heed the lessons: get new people on the committee regularly; look at new ways of engaging more and new people and bands; think of fresh ways to do the same things; don’t be afraid to change things up, drop an established practice or seek input from key players. Like Henrietta said the time she arrived home with the Buckfast and the handcuffs, “You have to find ways to make the old seem new again.”

+ Canmore games calls it quits