I am very pleased to have sponsored the publication, by the James McCowan Memorial Social History Society, of Fairs and Frolics: Scottish Communities at Work and Play.

Fairs and Frolics is the McCowan Society contribution to the "Toronto 200" celebration -- in recognition of the ordinary Scottish Canadians of Metro Toronto. This booklet includes a Foreword by Mike Filey, a Preface by Dr. Jean Burnet, Editor of "Ontario History", and an Afterword by Jim Connell, President of the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies. Fairs and Frolics was published as a special debut issue of the McCowan Society journal, From Croft to Clearing.

Fairs and Frolics traces the evolution of amusements of the ordinary rural Scot and Scottish Canadian. Almost 400 copies have been sold since publication less than four months ago.

The McCowan Society's "Fairs and Frolics" evening at Cliffcrest Church on November 3 was quite a success -- over $200 was raised to further the preservation of Scottish Canadian heritage. Many thanks to the Scarboro Heights folk who have purchased Fairs and Frolics. The McCowan Society has donated $39 -- $1 per copy sold directly in the area -- to the Robert McCowan Scholarship, a longstanding senior Math and Physics prize at R.H. King Academy.