Next year’s Corby Highland Gathering set to be two-day event and will feature ‘World Porridge Contests’

More details about next year’s Corby Highland Gathering have been released – with 2024 set to see a two-day event.

The Corby Highland Gathering is an event like no other, dedicated to celebrating the town’s Scottish heritage.

The event has a long-standing history, dating back to 1968, and the Highland Gathering Committee wants to preserve and promote this heritage for generations to come.

In 2024 they will be ‘going big’ and on Saturday, July 13, they will be having a Fun Day, incorporating some traditional Scottish events to get the whole family involved.

They will be welcoming LM Academy, who will be organising and hosting their Mini Highland Games with lots of different events for children to take part in.

There will also be their inaugural World Porridge Contests, consisting of tasting competitions and porridge eating championships.

Corby has an interesting history with porridge eating championships.

On July 18, 1969, NASA gave the crew of Apollo 11 a briefing on the latest news from back on Earth – including the result of a porridge-eating competition held in Corby, something which aimed to raise the profile of the town’s Highland Gathering held the following weekend.

Legend has it that the Corby crater on Mars, named after the town in 1979, took its name from the porridge tale, although that has been disputed.

Hamlyn’s of Scotland are supplying the porridge oats as well as prizes for the competition winners and Corby Scouts Groups are going to help bring their contests to life.

The committee are also hoping to bring back Tug-O-War to Corby Highland Gathering and with the help of the Tug-O-War association, they will be hosting some fun events for everyone to take part.

Dogs are welcome at the gathering and there will be a dog show organised by Sharon Tandy with lots of different classes.

The committee wants to have community groups attend, be it singing, martial arts, dancing or anything else that showcases the town and what it can offer.

If this is something your group would be interested in getting involved with, contact Suzanne on [email protected] or send them a message on Facebook.

On Sunday, July 14, the main events return with the RSPB Pipe Band Competitions, including performances from some of the best pipe bands and bagpipes in the area and hopefully beyond.

There’s also the All England Highland Dancing Competitions with highland dancers from across the country competing to become the All England Champions 2024, followed by the Massed Pipe Bands at the end of the day to complete the weekend.

Chairman of the Highland Gathering Committee, Mark Pengelly, said: “We wouldn’t be able to host Corby Highland Gathering without the support of our community and sponsors.”

Any companies interested in becoming a sponsor of Corby Highland Gathering should contact Mark. If you would like to help, you can donate to the Corby Highland Gathering’s Collection Pot here.

To get involved in the Corby Highland Gathering go to https://www.facebook.com/CorbyHighlandGathering, the Corby Highland Gathering website by clicking here or email [email protected]