By: Sarah Wright | Troy Times | Published March 5, 2025
TROY — Each Friday from March 7-April 18, community members can enjoy various Fish Fry events at the Kilgour Scottish Centre in Troy, with the events put on by the St. Andrew’s Society of Detroit, also known as the Detroit Scots.
“This is one of our biggest revenue-generating things throughout the year, and this is basically one of our main focuses,” St. Andrew’s Society of Detroit President Chris MacKenzie said.
The Fish Fry events are a part of the observance of Lent, which, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, is a 40-day period of prayer, fasting, and charity, beginning on Ash Wednesday and on Holy Thursday.
This year, the Lent period goes from March 5-April 17. Abstaining from meat is one of the traditional practices associated with Lent.
According to MacKenzie, during Lent, most Catholics don’t traditionally eat red meat on Fridays.
“So it’s become a fish, which is generally the fried fish, which is cod, pollock, or haddock,” MacKenzie said. “In our case it’s cod, so that’s kind of the default standard for the Lent fish fries.”
The Detroit Scots’ Fish Fry events have been a part of the community since the 2010s, providing meal options for adults and children, including beer-battered fish, baked fish, whiskey, french fries, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, clam chowder, and applesauce.
“So with the large Catholic contingent throughout metro Detroit, fish fries have become very popular and has expanded. They’re popular amongst non-catholics,” MacKenzie said. “It’s kind of one of those things that’s Friday and late winter — time to go out for fried fish or baked fish, as a lot of people like to have as well.”
For the 2025 season, community members can stop by the Kilgour Scottish Centre, located at 2363 Rochester Road, from 4:30-7:30 p.m. each Friday.
“Our Fish Frys are very popular in the community,” Van Rohr, a public relations representative and volunteer with the St. Andrew’s Society of Detroit, said in an email. “We have served up to 540 sit down dinners and many take out dinners. . . . Annually, we have approximately 45 volunteers each Friday of Lent.”
Community members can also enjoy performances from acts such as Scottish piper David Martin and Highland dancing students.
According to Mackenzie, generally, every week there is a piper and a couple of dancers.
“Being a benevolent organization, one of our main things is scholarships and donations . . . whether it’s Scottish-based charities or Alma College,” Mackenzie said. “In this case, we contribute scholarships to dancers . . . local in the area as well as people learning to play the pipes. So we get them in and it’s not constant throughout the evening . . . but a couple of little shows every night in the middle of the dining room.”
For more information, visit detroitscots.com or call (248) 526-1849.