For all the fun of kilts and tartan, and some mutton on the side, head on over to check out the Pavilion of Scotland this Folklorama!

"Food and family," laughed David Carey and Bart Omand, co-coordinators for the Pavilion of Scotland, when asked to describe their Scottish culture. "We love our food and ... once you bond together, you're family even if you're not related."

Root vegetables and legume make up the meat and potatoes of Scottish fare, with appearances of mince and haggis to add a touch of the unexpected to any traditional dish.

"When I was growing up, one of my best friends, both of his parents came from Scotland and Mrs. Rogers' mince was something to die for," Omand remembers, "so whenever she said they were having mince, peas, and tatties, I was there for dinner."

During Folklorama, an abundance of both food and companionship are readily available, and something that truly brings the pavilion together.

"You know everybody there ... the kids have been going since they were three or four years old. Now that they're big, they're the big sisters and all the little kids coming up look to them as family, and so it just becomes a big family gathering," Carey shared, no stranger to Scottish family gatherings.

"As a kid, we were at every Scottish event ... all the kids were just let off their leashes and we went nuts," he shared, smiling.

Not much has changed these days, but the opportunity to spend a week together sharing that joy and friendship with the hundreds who visit the Pavilion of Scotland is one that makes every volunteer light up.

Carey's mother and aunts came to Canada from Scotland shortly after the Second World War for a better life, leaving a destroyed homeland. His father's ancestors came over from Scotland and England, with a mission to expand their opportunity for a better life.

The second expedition of Lord Selkirk brought Omand's relatives to Canada from Scotland's Orkney Islands. Of the four brothers, Omand says three came to Canada, while one settled in Australia.

"We didn't realize the Scottish part of our culture until I was pretty much grown up," Omand shared. "My dad went back to do our genealogy ... went back as far as Lord Selkirk coming over."

His involvement in Follklorama came on the coattails of Scottish dancing, something his wife and daughter both participate in. "It bonds the community together," Omand explained, emphasizing the beauty of the pavilion's multicultural draw.

But while the importance of culture itself has grown stronger, culture itself is becoming less binding, according to Carey.

"Culture is now actually becoming almost a myth. Last year, we had a gentleman at the Pavilion of Scotland; hardcore Glaswegian, spoke with a Glaswegian accent, and he's Punjabi. Born and raised in Glasgow ... he had his kilt on, he had his turban on, and he was hardcore Scottish-Punjabi," Carey smiled. "Culture is ... a soup; everybody's got a little bit of something in them."

The welcoming atmosphere found at the Pavilion of Scotland is certainly reciprocated each year by those in attendance. 

There is one myth of Scottish culture that as true as the earth's rotation around the sun: the myth of the angry Scotsman.

"It's not a myth," says Carey. "They're the friendliest group of people you'll ever want to meet, and they can go from happy to angry [snaps fingers] just like that. And then they go back to being happy.

"It's a switch and it's funny to see," the Scotsman chuckled.

Visit the Pavilion of Scotland as part of Folklorama's 50th year at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church (2255 Grant Avenue) from Sunday, August 11 to Saturday, August 17, 2019.