As a lead-up to the 100th birthday of Tommy Douglas on Wednesday, Oct. 20, a local group is organizing three events that they hope the "Father of Medicare" himself would have enjoyed.

The Friends of the Douglas Centre will be holding a high tea on Saturday, Oct. 16, and two Scottish-themed concerts on Sunday, Oct. 17 and Oct. 24.

All three events will be held at the T.C. Douglas Centre.

Douglas was born in Falkirk, Scotland, in 1904. His family emigrated to Canada in 1911, but his childhood in Scotland made a lasting impression on Douglas, who "remained a Scottish nationalist all his life," according to the book, Tommy Douglas: The Road to Jerusalem.

Therefore, the high tea and two concerts have a very Scottish theme; anyone with tartans and plaids are encouraged to wear them to either event. If they don't have such clothing, people should just come dressed well, wearing their "best bib and tucker," said Myrt Thorson, a member of Friends of the Douglas Centre.

The high tea on Oct. 16 will be held from 2-4 p.m. High tea is actually an old British tradition, said Thorson, but their event will have a Scottish flair through the menu, which will include girdlecakes, scones, fruitcake and sweet trays.

Also, the Friends of the Douglas Centre will be patterning their event after the high tea served in Victoria, B.C., at the Empress Hotel, which varies slightly from the old British tradition.

Thorson said the event will be wheelchair-accessible and piano players will be performing continuously in the main hall of the centre, so that anyone who has to wait for tea can sit and listen to music.

There is no admission to the tea, though those attending are asked to make a donation to the T.C. Douglas Centre.

Tickets went on sale Friday for the "Cherished Memories" concerts, said April Sampson, also a member of Friends of the Douglas Centre.

Starting at 7 p.m., the concerts will feature piano and vocal solos by local performers, as well as "recitations" of poetry, likely that of Scottish poet Robert Burns, said Sampson.

"What we're trying to do is invoke an evening of music that Tommy Douglas would have liked," said Sampson, noting Douglas was very interested in theatre and also could recite Burns' poetry from memory.

Tickets are $10 apiece and are available at the Weyburn Co-op. Proceeds from both concerts will go to the T.C. Douglas Centre.

The Friends of the Douglas Centre are a local non-profit group that helps maintain the former Baptist church.

During the same week as these three events, the one-man play "Tommy Douglas: The Arrows of Desire" will be presented from Oct. 20-23 at the Weyburn Comprehensive School.

The play will be performed by B.C. playwright John Nolan, and is presented by Nolan's theatre company, Phantom Poets.