BRUNSWICK – There will be harpists, fiddlers, bagpipers, singers and athletic competitors galore at Thomas Point Beach this weekend as more than 60 clans and societies gather for the Maine Highland Games and Scottish Festival.
The Games promote Scottish culture, preserve Scottish heritage and provide funds for scholarships that are used to accomplish these goals.
Festivities will kick off Friday, Aug. 20, with a clan dinner at the Atrium (Scottish or semi-formal attire). Admission is by reservation only; $25 per person. Social hour is from 5 to 6 p.m. followed by dinner and entertainment. For more information, contact Robert and Jean Gray at 685-9277 or send e-mail to clangray110@hotmail.com.
Saturday, gates will open to the public at 8 a.m. Activities will include pipe band performances; traditional Scottish competitions for adult, junior and youth athletes; a Highland dance competition; an individual piping competition; and border collie herding demonstrations.
Opening ceremonies will begin at 11 a.m. with massed pipe bands and a parade of tartans. Participating will be the New Hampshire School of Scottish Arts from Manchester, N.H.; the Rocky Bay Pipes & Drums from Augusta; the Catamount Pipe Band from Montpelier, Vt.; the Catamount Pipe Band, also from Montpelier, Vt; the Dunlap Highland Band from Scarborough; the Crann Tara Pipe Band from Randolph, Mass.; the Maine St. Andrews Pipes & Drums from Corinth; the Colum Cille Pipes & Drums from Sandwich, Mass.; the Graham Highlanders from St. Johnsbury Academy, Vt.
There will also be children’s games, Scottish import sales, an all-day Scottish jam session, clan and family information, clan annual meetings, Scottish country dancing and workshop, Scottish singers, Highland cattle on site, Scottish and American food, a rolling pin toss for the ladies, Scottish arts and crafts, and more. Closing ceremonies will be at 4:30 p.m.
Scottish musicians scheduled to perform include Charlie Zahm, George Worthley and Carol Clark, Castlebay, Iona, Colin Grant-Adams and the Highland Soles.
There will be a post-Games concert featuring the “kilt-rock” group Prydein with the Scottish fiddle band Halali Saturday at Bowdoin College. The concert will be from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium. Tickets are $15, $12 for seniors, students and children under age 12. Tickets for this concert are available at MacBean’s Music, 141 A Maine St.; or call (207) 729-6513.
Sunday, a Kirkin of the Tartan will begin at 9 a.m. For details, e-mail Holly Morrison at macrodel@aol.com.
Tickets for the Maine Highland Games and Scottish Festival are $10 for adults at the gate; $5 for children ages 6 to 12. Parking is free. Participants may want to bring folding chairs.
To get to Thomas Point Beach from the Maine Turnipke, take former exit 9 to Brunswick. Traveling north or south on U.S. Route 1, exit at Cook’s Corner. Go straight at the traffic light as you come off the ramp and continue for 1.5 miles. Turn left at the sign. Stay on this road for 0.4 miles, then turn left again. The gate is 0.5 miles from this turn.
For more information about the festival, go online to www.mainehighland-games.com.
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